Transcripts For CSPAN Washington Journal 20160126 : comparem

if you listen in eastern and central time zones and the pacific time zones, 202-748-8001. if you want to add your thoughts n our twitter page @cspanwj is how do you that. if you want to post onnure facebook page, facebook.com/c-span. the los angeles times wrapped up the town hall out of cnn and iowa last night, saying that was the presidential contest in iowa, the last vote. hillary clinton and bernie sanders took startling different votersmuches to wavering in their final appearance on stage, an unconfrontational sanders, taking a barrage of attacks. clinton responded later with little of the feistiness she has shown recently on the campaign trail, instead reverting to her earlier posture of confident front-runner, emphasizing her qualifications for the office and trying to to avoid engaging rivals. except clinton is no longer the clear front-runener iowa. an unexpectedly tight right with the self associatistmocratic senator from vermont, in a loss that would significantly path to the r nomination. write-up in the los angeles times. if you go to where they have polings done out of iowa, they do a compilation of those things, it shows when polls that these former secretary of state with 6% of those interested in oting for her in the iowa caucuses, and martin o'malley at 44.4% w those thoughts in mind and thoughts on your candidate, about your like candidate of choice, democrats only. if you want to give us a call on 202-748-8000, in the eastern and central time mountain and pacific 202-748-8001. , james talks k about bernie sanders saying that i like that he's a socialist. is saying about ernie sanders, nearly impossible to answer because he many.sses so honesty, integrity, he can't be money. off by big and rayanne miller says hillary clinton has been a long time advocate for women and children. she has been fighting for healthcare since the nineties. pragmatism ander her grace under fire. those are comments you can make on facebook and go on our twitter and give us a call on the phone lines. we'll start in new orleans this morning. louisiana, angelo. good morning. candidate andyour what you like most about that candidate. caller: well, my candidate is bernie sanders. he's speaking a lot of things that people have been programmed to believe that is the program. there's no regulation on wall street. we saw that with wall street and pharma and quite a few things, and bernie doesn't have any super facts. he's dealing -- * super packs. dealing with strong donations from individuals, but truth.peaking the these people have been gotten one over so much their whole life and have been scared by communism that they're relating socialism to communism. they need to do some investigating on what a associatist is. host: angelo, what makes you ink that senator sanders is could get passed if congress went along with him? caller: as i said before, it's not just his. here's got to be a whole change. the change comes through the process of talking about the senate, the house and the president. and there's such a strong movement behind bernie right now he's going to bring a lot of good democrats with him. i predict he'll take the senate and the house. ost: in california next, democrats line. benny, hello. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. tell us about your candidate and . y you like that person caller: i'm feeling bernie all the way. fantastic nie did a job last night. would be honest with the american people. he will raise minimum wage to $15. pac.s not indebt to a or big banks. so i think bernie will represent america well. good president for the middle class and working class. i also think that the senate and congress will be replaced do-nothing 're a bernie getsress and elected, i think we would have a to house and a new senate get the work done. so i would suggest to everyone for bernie sanders coming election. host: that's benny in california gain for the first time this morning, the first segment, a look at the candidate, democrats at the candidate and why you like that candidate. arnold from smyrna, tennessee. up, hello. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: fine, thank you. caller: yeah, i believe the best quality of bernie sanders is that he's honest. you know, his honesty. more than a breath of fresh air in politics. to go. where he need we have to stop this business as usual. e have to start caring about each other more than we care power.ealth and i've called in here several times, and i always mention, i have written a book that i put online, the book is free. it's at godislove.org. i'd like to ask one question, end my statement with a question, and listen carefully to this. would/could it do to everyo veryone's attitude about everything to see evidence of proof of god? and god is love. to see evidence and proof of god is love, within the structure of book. xt of my host: okay. perry from memphis, tennessee. democrats line. hello. who are you supporting and why do you like the candidate? caller: yes, i'm perry calling out of memphis, tennessee. hillary clinton is my candidate. person we ost honest know up there, because everybody's put this stigma on dishonest.he's weird kind of way because she's a politician. and the one good thing about t we'll get bill back into the white house and we'll get some things done that we really need done.t i believe clintons can work with republicans. bill clinton was the best had. dent we ever host: are you saying people stigmatize her because she's a politician. what gives you evidence that goes against that. what would you say to people who say those things to you? .aller: (indiscernible) they're saying she's dishonest -- indiscernible] host: gotcha. hat was perry talking about hillary clinton. hillary clinton appearing at cnn. town hall televised by one of the things she was asked about was her judgment on issues. she had a chance to respond. here's her response last night. hillary clinton: i had a much longer vote because of one mistake because of the way it was done and how the bush administration handled it but i think the american public has exercising judgment in a lot of other ways and, in fact, when that hard primary campaign to work for i went president obama and he ended up asking me to be secretary of trustedt was because he my judgment, and we worked side years. over those four and think about where we were when he became president, iran on the way to a nuclear weapon which would have destabilized the middle east, created an arms race, the likes of which we have never seen. we have hundreds of thousands of and can troops in iraq afghanistan. our best allies and friends in asia were really put out with us because of the way bush been treated by the administration. and were very skeptical that the united states was an ally any longer and wanted to leave. i spent so much of my time getting back the confidence and the trust of our friends and allies around the world so i progress.made a lot of now, do we have a terrorist threat? a terrorist threat on 9/11 before president obama took office. attacked.ere so this is not something new. this is a long term challenge. hat's why i've laid out a plan radical isis and the jihadist terrorist network that think has the best chance of achieving that. host: for democrats only, your candidate and why you like your candidate. 202-748-8000, for the eastern zone.entral time 202-748-8001 for the non-pacific time zone. let's hear from new york. this is alberto, a supporter of bernie sanders. good morning. caller: good morning. just want to say my choice is bernie sanders but as far as i'm concerned, you know, all these at the end of the said fter everything is and done, making the rich icher, the poor poorer, it's a structured environment. that's all it is. host: umberto, why do you specifically like bernie sanders? caller: because i'm a collective thinker. terms of -- i think in hat's best for everybody, not just for a few. instead of thinking individually, i think collectively. i think socialized education and socialized hillary clinton. -- healthcare. that's what i think. host: do you think everybody would benefit equally, and not society? tor of caller: socialize education and socialize healthcare. from k we'll all benefit that. host: from tyrone in philadelphia. this is a supporter of hillary clinton. democrats line. hi. you? : how are host: fine, thanks. caller: i like bernie sanders. owever, i do not think that he at this time, to ork that aisle with the republicans and get it done. hillary clinton and bill clinton has proven through their actions in the past that they could move america afford. we have to remember that. not the approval record is what you say you can do, but what have you done? bernie's good. but he'son amendments, not top on being able to get this done. don't believe that they're going to pull his policies in, which he has a lot of good has no proven e ecord of experience to be able to get something done as a president or being around that think at e and i just this time, hillary is the person us. host: let me ask you, if she did win the presidency and remains in the democratic hands, what able you think she'll be to work with the republican policy to get that accomplished? caller: let me say this to you. can set the government down. we've proven it can happen. if they don't, we'll go into depression and be in bad trouble. hillary will be able to move some policies through there, did. like obama everybody saw what obama couldn't do, but obama was able policy through, regardless, you understand, if it was on the republicans. hillary has that ability. i do not believe bernie could go socialistic a policy at this time and be able to cross that aisle. and they lean d too far right. host: that's tyrone in philadelphia. the washington post talking about ted cruz campaigning in iowa. iowa caucuses, cruz besieged by foes adding recent iowa polls have gotten hairs, trump talking about his canadian birth. former alaska governor sarah palin to drive vangicals.ith the proponent of the european style economics. conservative candidate mike hucka bee and rick santorum are charging he's a fraud. once more, going all with an anticruz campaign. calling for cruz's defeat over iowa's two u.s. senators, charles glassey and ernes, are both showing favoritism for trump and rubio, in a tively while a man police uniform trailed cruz over the weekend. iane in long island, new york, a supporter of hillary clinton. go ahead, diane. tell us why. about t do you like most her? diane. hello, i am i like her. strong woman.very of y morning, six hours interactions. she's strong. she's a scorpio, and she knows what she is doing. she's someone who we will feel comfortable having, because i new york as a senator. live in georgia now but i'm here in new york for a while. when peopleell you, hillary, the same thing every morning, everybody well. n and say she's a very ] strong woman, she has discipline, and let me tell you, we are very strong people and we are honest, and we see everybody as our brother or a sister. material things does not matter. matter.oes not a contributor c-span in this country. they are working and helping them. please remember that. [indiscernible] host: that's diane in long sland, a hillary clinton supporter from glendale, maryland, by ron. like her? caller: good morning, the reason hillary is she's a good person. thinking about bernie sanders, the policies he's going to put taxes.egarding i pay enough taxes every day. i don't need my taxes raised anymore. there has to be a way so that it ould not affect the middle class people. host: that's byron in glendale, maryland. in case you're joining us, what do you like most about your candidate? democrats only. 202-748-8000, for the eastern time zone. 02-748-8001 for the mountain and pacific time zone. it was on cnn that bernie sanders had a chance to talk about not only his policy positions but his opponents as well, including hillary clinton's experience. here is senator sanders from last night. bernie sanders: the truth is that the most significant vote ng foreign egardi policy that we have seen in this country in modern history is the vote of the war in iraq. that's the fact. iraq.d against the war in and if you go to my web site, listen to the speech that i gave 2002 was in the house in saying yeah, it's easy to get rid of a dictator like saddam hussein but there's going to be a political vacuum and instability, and it gives me no pleasure to tell you what i feared, in fact, happened. hillary clinton voted for the war in iraq. in terms of wall street, i fought against deregulation, led away position to doing with the glass eagle legislation. lost.tunately, my side wall street became deregulated. the rest is history. all street has operated in a very significant way, in a raudulent way, and obviously, their greed and recklessness elped destroy our economy and reate the world's biggest depression since the great depression. this wall street on regulation. see where was hillary clinton on this issue. n terms of climate change, which everybody here knows, apparently everybody in the world knows except republican is onetes for president, of the great environmental nation.facing this on day 1, i said the keystone pipeline is a dumb idea. applause] think the boston pipeline and pipelines in boston and new hampshire are dumb ideas. we've got to break out the fossil fuels. why did it take hillary clinton such a long time before she came keystone ition to the pipeline? trade policy. have understood from day 1 that our trade policies have lot, off of china, millions of jobs. i didn't have to think hard the trans-pacific partnership. took hillary clinton a long time to come on board that. so in other words, yeah, i do and i have the background the judgment to take this very, very difficult job of being of the united states. host: again, that was from the des own hall held in moines, iowa, featuring the three democrat candidates. only asking democrats about the candidate of your choice and why you like that person. wind chill that goes on in iowa, campaigning not only takes place n iowa but in new hampshire, particularly republican talking john casic today, he plansa to visit des moines and cedar plan to be insn't iowa on caucus day. something called the iowa has held all, he three. on thursday night, people dropped in and out of these conversations on the phone where there's as many as 8300 any time.ts at the average participants spend a whopping 32 minutes on the hour-long call, and some iowans are at least interested in kasich. he told participants on the phone call he appreciated anything he could get from their vote.s what about caucus voters worried about pulling away, and he for the saying i vote person i like. i vote for the person who can do a good job. kasich, in an interview. bernie sanders supporter from tuscaloosa, alabama, john is up next, hi. caller: hello. i like bernie sanders. i think he has some good ideas. backbone to as the do some of these things that he's proposing to do. as far as hillary clinton is concerned, she has flip-flopped on more issues than any seen.ate that i have clip you showed bernie sanders at the town hall meeting, he mentioned a few of them, and hillary just don't have the backbone, if she becomes president, to cross the aisle to make the changes, which she will blow any way the wind blows. you have to be a strong omineering person to deal with this republican house and and, ican senate hopefully, that will change in 2018. maybe we'll have a democratic house in the senate and it will be a lot better for the policies bernie sanders or hillary clinton is proposing. thank you. california. in a supporter of hillary clinton. good morning, go ahead. caller: good morning. 'm a supporter of hillary clinton because she's pragmatic. we have to remember that we live we decide acy and they're not going to have everything their own way. so deals have to be made. but the changes that bernie those is talking about, changes are going to happen eventually. this th this congress and senate, it won't happen as hillary has proven over the years, it's incremental. and i agree with tyrone from philadelphia. with this congress, it won't happen. won't fight him and he have the support from some of the lone democrats. and that's all i have. think that don't senator sanders has the mind-set to make deals and compromise on policy agenda done? caller: he may. the socialist label were hurting more so with this congress. they'll vilify him because of that one word, and it's the way it relates to communism in this country, and that in itself will be a hindrance in anything he to do. now, that's why they're so fraid of hillary, because she doesn't have that label, and they're trying to work it the same thing. but it's incremental. she will get it done in stages. kensing on, iane in maryland, supporter of bernie sanders, hello. caller: hello. es, i think bernie is honest, resistant, and actually, an analysis was published and i think it's an analysis of the single-payer system in the documents the report hat by eliminating the title insurance industry, giving off of of dollars hillary clinton -- healthcare, of money would cover healthcare. and i don't like hillary. trans-pacific partnership. she characterized it as the gold standard in trade policy, and it was under bill clinton that passed, that helped not just our economy but the other es of mexico and talk.ries, and she is more bernie opposes the local ization of our police. the question raises how much of so-calledy all of that military hardware is worth at the expense of all of our that money ds where could be going. so i think -- and i think illary -- and i would have to say as a democrat in hello? -- host: you're on. go ahead. aller: as the democrats, a hospitaler was on c-span about a onth ago, and she said the evidence she found, they could have requested on numerous occasions security. and to put an ambassador in the cia is well known and widely disliked throughout the world, and to not have adequate rotection, this makes no sense and i think she should be held accountable. diane in ke she ngton, maryland, why likes that candidate. that's what we're asking democrats this time around. a look at the senate race this ime of year, and the possibility of the senate turning over to democratic control. democrats must win four or five seats depending on the outcome of the presidential election to regain control of the senate. the map gives them plenty of chances but the number of top-tier candidates with experience is slim. former senator russell fein gold is trying to retake the seat he ost in 2010 to republican ron johnson and in new hampshire governor haggie hasan is trying ayotten ohio, y running for is senate. in pennsylvania, former sestak who ve joe narrowly defeated by republican senator toomey in 2010 is seeking a rematch. other democratic recruits in illinois and former nevada attorney general, who wants to replace mr. harry reed, has less for the experience, race for democrats to reclaim title.cruiting up next in chicago, illinois, fay, a supporter of hillary clinton. hi, fay, good morning. caller: good morning, pedro. well, i wouldn't exactly call myself a supporter of hillary clinton, but like other callers pr said before, i am a pragmatist. obama.med the dream of i felt that there might be some change, that we might need some change. is ve what bernie sanders saying. eight years of impotence. done.ng -- nothing was so so i just don't want to go of ugh another four years impotence. i need to see the congress, i need to see the government working for everybody. that, but bernie says i just -- i'm not a believer. i just don't see what the congress that's in place, where happen. is going to host: what things are you talking about? you said nothing has been done in the eight years. what do you mean by that? caller: well, most of what the resident has achieved, the situation en in foreign policy with isis. has been at he said done by executive order. the economy, i believe, could be going along much better, had the cooperation, some this on't feel that side,ess on the republican ballot ows up the candidate. but the republicans still control the house and the senate. i don't see much difference for four think it will be more years of impotence and shutting down the government. i'm just -- i'm sick and tired of it. i'm fed up with it. i'm wishing -- go ahead. ost: go ahead, finish your thought. caller: no, no. would like to -- because i dream, i dreamed with obama. was thinking maybe, just tobe, he might be the bridge the divide, that some of it is racially motivated. racially al of it is motivated. hardline congress, hey don't want to work with obama, i'm just not confident his socialist th mean , that that would they would be any more able to work with him. host: gotcha. chicago.ay in let's hear from jerry, tarheel, north carolina. sanders. of senator go ahead. caller: good morning. think about hillary clinton, it, and. elebrate [indiscernible], and i think about syria and what's going on there. listen to the speech, he was talking about change and democracy failing. host: so when it comes to what do anders then, you like most about him? he's still speaking now. host: that's jerry in north carolina. e'll hear no, sir next from jasmine in new york, a supporter of hillary clinton. hi. you're on, go ahead. caller: hello? host: you're on. go ahead. aller: i'm a fan of hillary, because hillary gets things done. nsdenible] [indiscernible] host: and that's jasmine in new york. the new york times highlights some of the spending going on campaign ads, o specifically in iowa leading up caucuses.ys of the nick says all told, candidates have spent more than 40 million dollars to date in iowa in broadcast advertising, spent six alone, in the last week airingcoorercials, and an additional $13 million has been cable channels in the states. this is from ken goldstein at the university of san francisco saying analytics relies on things being underpriced. everything is being bought when it comes to ad sales, what might make more sense, more targeting on a national scale where bigger media markets over time did not it e successful, when concentrates on a small subset of voters in a small state over days, according to experts. as you can imagine all campaigns airing emocratic side their ads when it comes to the days leading up to the caucuses. ads e is a collection of from the democratic candidates. > on february 1, thousands of iowans will be part of something being, caucusing for hillary clinton. first, find your caucus voters. no matter where you live, there's one nearby. by 6:30 p.m. on volunteer ruary 1, a will show you where to go. hillary clinton will stand up to republicans, protect the progress we've made and get things done for you and your family. all of that starts with you at the iowa caucus on february 1. see you there. vote bernie , sanders. >> change the future! governor martin o'malley. 'm a lifelong democrat and i'm running for the president of the united states, to change the leadership of our country and to build upon the good work president obama and vice president joe biden have done. i've had the e, back bone to take on the nra and 'll do it again to pass comprehensive gun safety legislation. and t to take the country build on president obama's progress. i need your help. thanks a lot. host: democrats only. who is your candidate and why? and particularly, what do you like about your candidate? the numbers will be on your eastern, vided into central, and mountain and pacific time zones. from charles in mount oracle, ohio, a supporter of senator sanders. hello. caller: good morning, sir. thank you for taking my call. hearing people ask different democrats the between a twoen socialist and a democrat, and they don't seem to have an it, and i think that's kind of riling, you know. sanders, i bernie think he's telling people the truth about how he really feels don't t he thinks, and i get that from hillary. plus, i have a lot of doubts hillary's ability to run our government as far as not to decipher the things that she was putting on server was secret and above secret, and the way it looks to me, she should be in jail. host: randy from missouri, a supporter of hillary clinton, hi. caller: good morning, pedro. tell you what. i'm not so much supporting hillary clinton as i want to make sure that the gains that president obama achieved for us is maintained. and i'm looking at this from a practical standpoint. bernie sanders -- and i have nothing against bernie. ernie will not be able to get to the 270 electoral votes, no matter how much you want him to. this is not a popular vote. this comes down to the electoral vote. if bernie is the ge candidate, democratic strong hold states that are taken off the table which translates to 72 electoral vote counts. stoply, the democrats will in the slate from anywhere the votes0-225 before are cast. the republicans are between 174-190. the bernie, 72 comes off democratic side. 140 in the n to state. these three states, michigan, illinois and wisconsin. you know that democrats have not lost a presidential election in since the last time was 1988. and the other two is pennsylvania and iowa. we're talking about electoral vote count. he cannot make that up. he will not be able to make that number up. and win illinois, but that is not going to win the popular vote. that's not the popular vote. he will not be able to win the outskirt areas and especially the down state. host: so you like hillary because of electability then? caller: exactly. 270.can get to the and it's about, for me, it's about maintaining those things that president obama has achieved. bernie will not get that. host: brandy in missouri, telling us about the electoral college and how that factors deciding on the candidate he likes. the front page of the washington imes, other stories takes a look at the organization that as behind the planned parenthood videos, indictment against them being placed from a exas grand jury, saying not only did it a clear that the accusations sold tissue for profit, they indicted the pro-life activates that sought the recordings over the abortion provider's activities. the activist, david galiden and indicted on were charge of tampering with a oppose nt record, both and talking about harvesting fetal tissues. documents, court mr. daleiden was also indicted under a law prohibiting the solisitation or sale of human organs. a response from the organization and center for medical progress appears on their web site. it goes as such saying the same undercover techniques that investigative journalists have used for in exercising our first amendment rights, freedom of speech and the press and follows laws.pplicable respect the processt the harris county district attorney fetal tissue requires the seller as well. parenthood still cannot deny the admissions from their to ership for all the world see. by the way, david daleiden was last week talking about the pending lawsuits that were against him. if you want to see that nterview he had last week, go to our c-span web site. that's at c-span.org, and you can type in the name, central medical progress, planned parenthood or something along that fashion and you'll be able other that interview and things and other events we have taken in on this issue. can be found at c-span.org. let's hear from greg, chatanooga, tennessee. a supporter of senator sanders, hi. caller: did i understand you right, that the people who actu information in the video footage about prarp, they got charged? indicted, yes. caller: so -- choice ur candidate of and why you like that person? caller: definitely hillary. stop the progression now. if we can sell baby parts for a couple of hundred thousand we cannot stop now. sanger award tha winner, and that's the genesis crash. we can't stop now. we've got to keep this progression going. what are we thinking, america? it going. o keep host: senator sanders hosting a campaign event in iowa, a campaign rally that will be live on c-span. as far as the road to the coverage of the white house, you can see that at 11:00 on c-span, listen to it on c-span radio, nd also find out more about it on c-span.org. hillary clinton also holding an iowa. in marshalltown, watch that live tonight at 9:30 in the evening. campaign t will be a rally. you can find out more about these events and other events iowa at ace in c-span.org. charlotte, good morning from supporter linois, a of hillary clinton. hi. caller: good morning, and thank c-span.much for hillary clinton is my candidate. she's tough, she's smart, she's strong. she can work both sides of the aisle. i love bernie. i love his message but as far as setting the stage for the future almost too ry, it's much too soon with what he is talking about. 'd love to see how that happened, but progress takes ime, and it's kind of a slow journey. gaylet's not forget now how marriage is legal and how long that fight was. so we can get to where bernie wants us to be. will.w we just the fact that his message is out there is so important for hillary is the person we need right now and let's not forget 2008 ce she realized in she wasn't going to be the nominee, she got all the supporters to support president bama and she did it with class and dignity. she accepted defeat, ded that for him, and he became our resident and he was such a great president. i also want to talk quickly about trade. so ive in a global economy, you have to get realistic about trade. my feeling is if we trust president obama as democrats, he ith hillary has crafted a really smart trade plan. our real problem are taxes. so if we are smart and get more office, then we could create a tax program that country better for our and it would make the trade bad as some seem as people are saying they are. we also want to say there's a e-mail.hing about her we have to realize that they're she here, and as smart as is, i believe she had her e-mail network a private protecting our information. e have seen how the pentagon programs and other high department e-mails have been hacked so i really believe that was all about protecting information and nothing to do with scandals and what have you. okay. in chicago illinois, supporter of hillary clinton, former clinton had atate chance to talk about those e-mails and the issues at the ing the e-mail town forum last night on cnn. ere's how she addressed that topic. hillary clinton: i had no ntention of doing anything other than having a convenient ing and it unicate ing turned out to be not so convenient. again, we've answered every question and have continued to do so. trying to faster, scramble around to find out what all of this means, i probably quicker. e done this >> are you willing to say it was an error in judgment and ready apologize? hillary clinton: no, i'm not saying it was an error in judgment. nothing diwas wrong. >> apologizing sooner, i mean. hillary clinton: apologizing you can.s soon as part of the problem, and this is not as an excuse but as an explanation. when you're facing something like that, you've got to get the facts and it takes time to get the facts and when i said hey, take all my e-mails and make them public, that has never been done before ever, by anybody. sorting our been way through this, because it is kind of a unique situation. at happy people are looking the e-mails. some of them are, frankly, a embarrassing. ou know, you find out that sometimes i'm not the best on technology and things like that, but that's great. let people sort them through. as we can see, there's a lot of interest, but it's something that took time to get done. host: let's hear from jessica in south carolina, a supporter of senator sanders. jessica, good morning. morning.good i support bernie sanders because of the fact that whenever he says what he believes in and it it's the to vote, same exact way he votes. most politicians, they will say they believe one thing and they will vote another. iraq war.ce, with the bernie sanders was against the iraq war. he voted against the iraq war. hillary clinton said she was war but she raq voted for the iraq war. bernie sanders does not take money from big hillary as to where clinton accepts money from wall street, goldman sachs, all kinds of places, along with every other presidential candidate besides donald trump who is financing his own campaign. -- but with bernie sanders, earlier, but ran he is an amazing candidate who wants to get the united states on the same track as the rest of in thest-world countries world. host: so do you think if he were office, could he make that agenda happen? caller: yes. ernie sanders could make that agenda happen, because he doesn't budge on what he wants. compromise, e will and that is one thing that we ave not seen from many candidates, and i think that a lot of that had to do with the first at we had our african-american president, so they wanted to just completely stonewall him in every way, shape and form that they could. the majority of the republicans, which is why they shut down the government, because they didn't ant to pass a budget or even work on a budget. and another thing that they need to stop doing in congress and verything is whenever they're passing a bill, say, for planned parenthood, they don't need to trade to a hing for planned parenthood bill. one has nothing to do with the of the nd that is one gest reasons we're having impasses in our government because they don't want to focus on one law whenever they're talking about it. they're trying to add four or five other laws that have othing to do with it on there, and that's where we're running congress old ups in and senate. host: jessica in south carolina. sanders.ter of bernie let's hear in betty in alifornia, a former supporter of secretary of state hillary clinton. you're on. go ahead. aller: oh, yeah, my main thing i wanted to say, a lot of time people think just because you president, once he gets in there, he can do whatever he say he going to do. forget about the republicans in congress. even though obama was even get ed, they was trying to rid of him then. host: when it comes to hillary clinton, what do you like most about her? caller: i like hilla hillary -- hillary has been in time.for a long and she knows what she's doing and she knows what she's talking about. all that e-mail stuff that they , you know, some something that, you know, the republicans got going on, because they don't like hillary. hillary's husband was running, that was a good time. it was. i thought a really good time when he was running. host: joseph in new jersey, a supporter of bernie sanders, hi. doing? ow you i'm a supporter of bernie sanders, because let's face it, american companies aren't taking on day workers, so have to go to help, you ent to get know, the stimulus package is a when my ago, but employer is giving me nonsense i ut sleeping on the job, went to the unemployment office they gave me 60 weeks of unemployment, they took care of me, you know, and now bernie got something called obamacare and got covered. y company did not give me health insurance no matter what. they wanted my car, they wanted my blood, they wanted my time, they want to pay me $2 an hour, nonsense? o work for host: what do you think bernie anders specifically will do to companies to change your situation then? cpa r: he's going to be my until they figure things out, because they don't want to take workers.heir like our parents got taken care of. the government is going to have to take care of us, our generation, for a long period of time until the companies start waking up. in new jers acob former maryland governor martin o'malley, he was specifically asked what his supporters, his followers in iowa should do on february 1 if he's not the candidate. here's his response. o'malley: sounds like a process. here's my suggestion to him. a n i have put together terrific organization or we have put together a terrific across this all state, chris, and one of the easons why the polls back east could never figure out how the caucuses work, because it's a very organic thing. so my message to the o'malley supporters across this state is your hold strong at caucus. [cheering] hold strong at your caucus because america is looking for a new leader. america is scanning the horizon. we cannot be this fed up with locked dysfunctional national politics and think that a resort to the old ideologies or old names will move us people so i tell my hold strong. i know this is a tough fight but to a lways been drawn tough fight. i believe the toughness in a fight is the hidden way god has to fight us we have for something worth saving. the american dream is worth saving. this planet is worth saving. america needs new leadership and need the o'malley supporters on caucus night to hold strong and move forward like america does. host: and that was martin o'malley from last night's town democratic the candidates talking about their ssues leading up to the iowa caucuses in less than a week. to see more about the caucuses and specifically our coverage on it, go to our web site at c-span.org. coming up on the program, we are going to be joined by two guests this morning. the obama administration has its settlement by big banks. the slush fund for payments to noncharitable groups. his ins us next to discuss story on that. later on in the program, katrina vanden heuvel will be along to discuss 2016 and the magazine giving their endorsement. n the news this morning, it talks about back and forth in particular senator over eric nominee the president's to become secretary of the army. back in september, the president nominated eric fanning as the next secretary of the army. raised any ere has concerns about his qualifications for a prominent war time administrative post. fanning has been a specialist on national security for issues more than two decades and played overseeing some of the pentagon's biggest shipbuilding and fighter jet programs. nbc news goes on to say for some social conservatives, the fact itself an g is guy automatic disqualifier. but on capitol hill, there's a kind of prospect. senator pat roberts is vowing to keep a hold on the nominee for the tary of army until president leaves office and is no longer in a position to close prison.tanamo bay it was in a hearing last week that he was talking about his qualifications, what he brings to the position, and to talk about the size of the army and readiness. >> has not improved markedly since july. of our ll about a third dcts that are ready, that the army would define as decisive action, ready for a big, large might face hat we against russia or north korea or what have you. to gety has in plan ways there, but there are many impediments in place. demand on the force, the size it is, makes it difficult to keep it trained, to keep it going through training rotations. >> when you strengthen the army, ratio, which eploy is very difficult. >> absolutely. because the demand is not shrinking at the same rate. pushing for we be more resources for a larger army given the threats that we face. would something you advocate for? >> i do worry about the size of when we were , directed to go down to 450 in qdr,active component by the the general testified that this is with risk. i know you said this quite a bit. i was sitting across the table in the air force. has testified we can eet the combatant commanders requirements at 450 but the risk is increasing and i don't see changing.r we didn't have isil, we didn't have russia. so i am concerned. it's preventing us from doing everything we want to do in the ready-er to keep it whole. directed the army specifically in the next month, hich i think will be very telling. host: again, if you want to see that hearing about the army secretary, the confirmation hearing with eric fanning, you can do so when you go to our web site at c-span.org. joining us now is sean higgins examiner.washington he's their senior writer, and he has a couple of stories taking a process by the justice deputy, the treasury department, and a lot of other people involved and groups involved. the title of the story is called fund." good h morning. thanks for joining us, sean higgins. guest: thanks for having me on. host: why do you call it a slush fund? guest: it's technically what it is. it's the amount of money the government has sort of seduded from the settlement with citi group and bank of america. basically not giving away to nonprofit groups that the government keeps. in other words, banks are encouraged to give money to lists. n these host: we hear a lot about these settlements. the justice department specially about the amounts that are involved. as far as the settlements are concerned, what happens once hose payments are made to the overall initial settlement that was made by the justice department? guest: well, the banks get donations that they make to these groups outside. what's interesting about it is actually get double credit. these were settlements in the bel billion-dollar ranges but for they settlement they get, get $2 for the overall that they one deal as wo for far as banks are concerned and there's no limit in the amount of money on the deal they can give away to these groups so they can reduce the civil penalties, in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. it's pretty certain that bank of america has already gotten about that much and probably more, and it's not clear exactly how high it's going to go. ost: so specifically, what groups are these funds being directed to? guest: it's on a group called hud-approved -- it's -- the roup -- it's a listening team from housing and urban development, and it refers to groups that are involved in housing relief that they basically, the department has funds d as recipients of and various things. it includes a variety of different groups. includes a lot of main stream nonpartisan ones like catholic charities. it also includes liberal groups r leanings of liberal groups such as the national council of la raza and also local ones. least a ist is at couple of hundred institutions that but it's interesting some of those more liberal ones seem to be recipients of a lot of money involved. so just to look at bank of america, since you brought it up. the initial settlement was 16 million or so back in 2014. reporting, o your about 20 million of that went to groups, 50 million went to private community development groups. can you expand on that? there is no cap. they could give 100 million or 200 million to these groups if they want to. of the groups, i think it is the middle one you mentioned, basically legal aid is a fairly, this kosher donation. maintainedare groups by local government. the third-party nonprofit groups. host: these donations get made and ended -- in return, they get deductions off the initial amount of the settlement. how much can they reduce the settlement by? theoretically, there is no limit. the settlements reached between the justice department and the banks, they do not cap the amount. they are -- there are only minimums. credit givenfor-1 to the banks for doing this. there is a total amount that bank of america has given. in the neighborhood of 60 million. i have the actual figure i cannot quite read. 160 million in credits they have gotten. turn onember, based in information back in august. the next report is due out next month. all the minimums in terms of the amount they will require, whether they see it or not is not clear. bank of america has already gotten more than a million of the penalties in exchange for what is less than half of that being paid out. that the house judiciary committee has been looking into. they held a couple of hearings on it. i spoke with a couple of congressman who have been looking into this. they have not gotten a whole lot of answers yet. some people in the committee tell me the government is starting to be more cooperative. they're having difficulty finding out exact what documents requesting from the justice department. it is very unusual and sort of an esoteric subject. it is hard to clarify some of the things the committee wanted. it is something they have been looking into over a year. groupsaying for chairman as part of big settlements. you can ask about the process by giving a call -- host: is this practice legal? guest: it is a gray area. it is supposed to go directly to the treasury department and only congress. these deals are not doing that. the banks are making donations on their own without any of the money reaching the federal government. the deals are what is called deferred or delayed for banks. they reached the agreement before they ever went to court. basically what the government is saying is we never received the money. banks were voluntarily make donations. therefore it is not federal money and we do not have to turn it over to the treasury department. violation but then the government would argue that these were never officially receive by the government and therefore we can do this. that is part of what the article is about. host: you quote from the u.s. attorney's management -- manual about the legality. not required to pay funds -- that sounds cut and dry to me. guest: directly involved in the harm, the entity of the charge. would go room but it is fairly clear. the government's argument is we never received the money so therefore this never did that. the justice department basically lays out exactly how you would circumvent the rules. host: our guest from the washington examiner joining us. our call is from missouri, democrats line. good morning. go ahead. caller: i tell you what. why i am voting for bernie host: thousan-- host: that was our last subject. caller: all the big banks -- are we on or not? ok. clinton has got their hands in the finance is this their and they made millions from that budget. that is why i'm voting for bernie. i think he will straighten this mess of. taking money from big banks, how will you get justice if you do not have someone come in there and do something real? guest: i understand the point he is making. great part of bernie sanders appeal is that he will be a lot tougher. endlessly in on these financial organizations. -- and less lenient on these financial organizations. good morning, america. i have a problem with giving the banks the opportunity to donate banks where they see that. all around me in williamsburg, the political class and the state and federal level all belong to the boards, like the boys and girls club, the state the association and the state teachers association and i see big chunks of change showing up from the state and charities, and see the for professional services given to board members who happen to be professional appointees. i see a lot of unaccounted for outcomes. there are no outcomes they are aware of. everybody is to believe these folks are doing the work they say they are doing. the closeness of the classes is one of the issues in these things. it becomes a lot easier for people to strike the deals when they become familiar with the people sitting across the table. that is a consistent argument. host: republican line, pennsylvania. caller: how are you doing today? this looks to me like plain old distortion or you demonize the banks. ofm not necessarily in favor what the banks do but there has been an ongoing process of demonizing the banks and then issuing big penalties and the problems were caused by the federal government themselves by forcing the banks to make these laws. then you go tell them you will get a $10 billion penalty and then you give it to our preferred groups out here who you minimize it. this is distortion, plain and simple. guest: even if he did not specifically mention it, the investment act requires tanks to make loans to people in the sort of community they live in, even if ordinarily they would not in financials. it is one of the controversial aspects of the financial downturn when it happened in 2008. a lot of ink is spilled both ways and whether or not that is a factor in it, that was one of the angst. also, i would not go as far to say we should hang people for this, but one of the things about the case is the government encouraged bank of america to acquire two of the entities to ,cquire financial liabilities countrywide in merrill lynch. during the gray -- during the crisis, they failed and they would cease to exist and create a serious problem for financial recovery. the government turned around and charged for the violations that occurred. some of the violations were also ,he ones by bank of america also completely clean, but most were these other two and these. purchased the liabilities as well as the assets. there was essentially -- who else would they charge? it is one of the ironic things about the settlement and the financial crisis in the way the government responded to it. bank of america, other big banks involved? thet: this was in settlement government did with j.p. morgan chase. once i was into that, details of the plea agreement were noticeably dissimilar to -- from the two i discussed here. the question is whether they will do this heading forward. christiee of chris when he was an attorney in new thing, doing a similar and getting them to base the in ethics,irmanship ironically. there you go. from jacksonville, florida, you are next. republican line. caller: i just wanted to say they rely in the government to pay for a lot of these programs. the banks saying is are paying catholic charities and people who need help and it does not come from the government. it is coming from the bank. why do we call it an obama slush fund? guest: it is his administration and his justice department. the officials he put in charge of the justice department to arrange this. something made by the justice department to others. as of these are worthy charities and they are doing good work. i try to talk to the justice of artman to get them to do that and i expected they would make that argument. we doing good work with the. intervieweclined my request. why not say this if that is how they feel #art of the factor is they are skirting official rules with this and allowing the justice department to pull the money around. if you think that is fine now, here's is the question. would you become full with a different administration also saying we can circumvent the rules if we want to and direct money to places we think it ought to go? woulds the questionnaire you become a with president ted cruz or donald trump saying, i do not care if the money is supposed to go to that, i want to have it go to these places. that is why we have the rules in the first place. host: are there defenders? guest: in the congressional hearings, yes. basically making the same argument the gentleman from jack built it, which is a bank did wrong and these organizations are doing well, what is the problem here? it is a fair point to make but it is circumventing the rules. why not just the more open about that if that is how they feel about it in the case of the government? host: a viewer on twitter says what do republicans do? they wanted to go to the treasury department simply so it could go to the normal appropriations process. the argument the congressman made, look, if there is something wrong with making donations to , it can be done as part of the appropriations process. it is part of the rules and the bounds of powers argument. host: james is next, wilmington, delaware. democrats line. fund, in myhe slush opinion, every state has a slush fund. what is the big deal? the money goes to the banks. in my opinion, it should not go to the banks. guest: it comes from the banks, but anyway. ok, it comes from the bank then. being appropriate for different things, that is fine if they use it for what they are supposed to use it for instead of buying and selling more guns or whatever they're doing with the money. it should be divided individually to each state and let the state decide what to do with it. if the state keeps control of it in the state treasury, that is fine. the money is drawing interest there. but the federal government, i do not know if that is such a wise idea. who knows what they will do with it. the problem with diverting it to the states is this is the money the federal department acquired. a congressman could put it into block grants and set it to states if they chose. write your congressman and tell them to do that i guess. host: los angeles, california, democrats line. good morning. i complained about the situation with the banks over a year ago. i got a response in the white house. they did nothing about it. is gettingn valley in on the property in the middle class black community, under president obama. no one is saying anything. i do not understand how this could happen underneath a black resident. guest: regarding the situation with silicon valley, i am not certain what that is. i have not heard about it. is this practice only going to be regulated with big banks or can it be done with ?ther entities as well guest: the original memo i found i laid out how to do this would actually -- actually referred to prosecutions involving waste in that type of stuff. the idea that you could take some of the funds in the settlement for that. basically, the government took the rationale from the environmental crimes and applied it to the financial rod activity. it could he basically done to any type of settlement the government engages in. host: florida, republican line, linda, your next. go ahead. our government is so big that the right does not know what the left is doing here it and it is very secretive. i want to know why some of the money cannot pay down the national debt. they just keep borrowing the money and raising the debt ceiling when they have all this money and they could just pay off some of it. i will hang up now and listen. thank you. guest: that is part of the argument the congressman was making was that we should be going to the treasury department and being used for those types of concerns, where could be done. obviously by diverting it this way, it cannot be used for that. it is nowhere near enough to retire the national debt, but for that purpose, yes. out: i'm interested to find what your reaction was when you publish this story. what have you and since publishing this? the interesting thing is a lot of the stuff is not that the grit. google is most of the information -- most of the information came from publicly available sources. oris just not commonly known widely out there. it is kind of a tangled to get into and figure out. i had some serious problems together and it took a couple of weeks to get the information. trying to figure out a way to present it that is comprehensible. that is part of the issue with this type of activity to most of it is not really that the grit. it is just hard to your out because you have to delve into the details in the minutia of it. host: did you get any direct response from the justice department on this? guest: neither one of them contacted me. do not their response is feel the fire or bring more attention to this. host: frank in new york, democrats line. you are on with sean higgins of the washington examiner. caller: good morning. hello? say thatnt to everybody is blaming obama was going on way before obama got into office. the lady that spoke before, the money is supposed to be going to lowering the debt. it is not going there because politics today is big money. is big money. [indiscernible] host: did not mean to cut you off. onlyoint, is this practice this administration or i have other administrations done this? guest: as far as this particular maneuver, yes, i believe something the obama administration came up with. i do nothing previous administrations have done it. i'm not aware of prior incidences. it is possible that it has happened here i would not pass -- put it past officials but onically, there are limits just what executive agency can do on its own. one of the things about this administration is a are constantly pushing the envelope in terms of what its powers are regarding executive action and executive authority. they have made it a habit of reinterpreting old rules and pushing novel legal theories. i covered labor employment issues and national labor relations board is pushing an expanded definition where one employer is responsible for workforce law and violations because they are connected. previously, they had to have direct control over the workers. now there are expanding the definition. -- is used one of the things the administration has done is decided it will just push the limits of executive authority. again, that is fine if you are sympathetic to the administration and its goals. as i pointed out earlier, the problem with this type of activity is they create precedents that could be used by subsequent administrations. he will only be president for about another year or is no. a new administration will take over, maybe one that is not a sympathetic to you and your goals. they may decide to use the discretion in entirely different ways. that is the question people need to ask. host: illinois, teresa is up next. sean higgins of the washington examiner. go ahead. support poor people? it sounds like that is what the money is going for. it sounds a people have lost homes. ,epublicans with the sequester that has put off so much needed funds in the banks are so greeted they could not care less about how they decimated the economy. with the help of wall street. support --nse to the this reporter's's characterization of obama's slush fund. it sounds like he is benefiting. let's not forget, millions of people lost due to foreclosure. [indiscernible] banks and wall street profited through this behavior and now we have a congress -- all americans can't -- have gone through this because of the banks recklessness and greet. it sounds like a good use of money for a change and because republicans hold the purse money, obamae recognizes this and it is a way to help those people. thank you. again, that was the basic argument made by democrats when the committees held hearings on this. again, it's a reasonable position to make on its own terms. i would make the argument that it is also an expansion of executive authority beyond what it is capable of doing and if you are fine with obama being able to do this, are you fine with any other administration being able to do the same in? iat is the sort of question raised and i pointed out previously. ohio, patrick, good morning, democrats line. caller: i did not catch all of the earlier discussion but are some of these agreements supervised by courts or federal judges? guest: they have independent monitors agreed to by the bank and federal prosecutors, that is my understanding. host: massachusetts, lou, independent line. caller: a couple of questions for you. the first was tax wise. for the sake of argument, it is -- if it is $109 penalty, is the penalty tax deductible from the operation's viewpoint and conversely, if it is a $60 is the contribution, contribution tax deductible? if it is an let's say the 50% tax bracket, then the actual tax cost them -- i mean the 25tribution costs them million, the penalty would have been 25 million if it were not tax-deductible. that is actually a good question. i did not look into whether these groups are also tacked -- tax deductible. it would seem odd if the administration would allow them to also be tax-deductible in addition to everything else. aey are already getting substantial benefit from the fact that they are getting two dollars off the overall penalty they have to pay the government for every dollar they donate. if they are tax-deductible -- i honestly do not think to look into that and i'm glad you raised the question. host: when it comes to the donation, the recipient, financial institutions. elaborate on this. $15 million in donations plus, that turns into $38 million, plus, when it comes to legal assistance, it is $29 million in donations. that turns into $68 million. and credit amount. counsel agencies, $30 million in donations, that turns into $31 million plus. is money being taken off the top of financial penalties. if you thought it was great the government was having all these from theof dollars banks, understand they are also allowing them to get a lot of that any taken away through the donations. in the figures you referred to there, those are from the monitor's report on the bank of america settlement, and this is the one that came out in november. i believe the next one is coming out in february. those are figures based on the ones you just quoted, those are from the middle of last year, i think august. the numbers are probably significantly higher. they just have not been reported yet. joe inet's hear from lewis, colorado. republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have a few questions. wills why is it the banks not make you whole? hello? you know, when you get into a civil situation and you are sued, we have to make that person hole and put them back the way they were. -- whyld the banks wouldn't the banks be required to pay back to the victims? is, why is itone a technicality can make a lie of truth? guest: they were required to write down substantial -- the bulk of the agreement was , thesely writing down are the troubled loans that came out. they were in that sense required to do that. i'm talking about one part carved out, not the entirety of the deal. it is a relatively small part of it in terms of the overall amount. charles, connecticut. good morning. go ahead. independent line. caller: good morning. i have one question and a quickie. my first question is is there a time frame for the bank of america distribution for the moneys? time goes on and the dollar gets cheaper. guest: they have goals they are supposed to meet in terms of when they are supposed to do it. i do not believe there is a penalty in terms of not making it. there is some leniency in terms of doing it. in any event, i have been told people expect to meet their .inimum requirements at that point, they will be relieved of any potential penalty. as i noted earlier in the program, there is no actual cap on the donation amount they could get here they get two dollars off every dollar donated. there is a strong incentive for them to continue to do it. host: do you have a follow-up? caller: yes. does this cause any pain for bank of america? well, the overall penalty, we are talking billions of dollars. it is a significant chunk of change as far as they are concerned. the particular provision actually reduces that, so, is a fair the penalty thing for the government to have forced banks to do. they did illegally -- acquire these other companies that were responsible for a lot of what went out. they acquired the liabilities as well as the asset. that is recently got the way. no one is arguing they should not have paid out these, or at least i am not, for the loans that went out. this questioning some of the details involved in the deals. new jersey, independent line. caller: i would like to know why we're fun doing faith based charity initiatives since 2004 and also funding this through the bank slush funds. what is the real answer? well, a lot of the nonprofit groups that received funds, the way they are done is they may be affiliated with religious groups, but they are nevertheless independent nonprofits. catholic charities have long had a tradition in keeping the charitable aspects separate from the rest of the organization. in a legally sufficient way. i am us doing most of the other people, if they are religiously oriented, follow similar models. a place online that spells out specifically where the charities -- guest: yes. you can go to the housing and urban development website and find the list on there. findy be a little hard to because like most government websites, it is not very easy to navigate, but it is on there and it is heavily available. from michigan, independent line, margaret, go ahead. caller: one of the questions i had, talking about the testability stuff, that was part of my question. the other part i found out about, i was wondering can they make donations toward that as cash? for instance, bank of america, they foreclosed on the house and maybe not such a good area. could they may be have an accelerated rate and donate a house and then have that count toward their penalty, which in turn would get off their books, donate something and getting better deduction and they should already? are you following my train of thought? guest: that scenario is possible. i'm not sure whether it happened. habitat for humanity is one of the organizations on the list. your scenario is possible. host: one more call. this is from texas, independent line. caller: hello. fundingshould minimize these politicians. because, for example, the second term of the clinton administration, it was not caused by the works of resident clinton nor mrs. clinton. was it was caused by me. guest: was caused by you? i'm not quite sure i understand. i taught america how to grow gdp by 5% by putting people to work. to congressman jackson. c-span not putting this talk of mine with the congressman up? why are you hiding it? not directly related to what we're talking about. where do we go from here? will we see other types of deals? what do you look for going forward especially in light of what you found out? terms of this administration, i do not know of any subsequent deals. there is only another year left before it moves on. or, wins theinton nomination of the president the, you just keep your eye out for the deals when they happen. the story is available on the washington examiner's website. sean higgins wrote this story. thank you for your time this morning. katrinaspeak next with vanden heuvel. we will discuss why they made the 2016 endorsement. we want to discuss an event that took place recently on the topic of guantanamo bay, specifically ushered -- efforts to close guantanamo bay by the administration. here is some of that event. i think we overflowed -- overblew the threat of isis. i think russia is filled with nuclear weapons and we do not take them as seriously as we do isis. aboutis something strange the concern in the public with isis, what happened in paris and california is probable. it is on the news all the time. it is peter a great time to speak on cnn where he does very well. i am not confident the obama administration will close guantanamo toward the end of its term. i think there are all sorts of lyrical things going on. very few of us seem to care about closing guantanamo. it seems to me easy to stir up passions against closing it. and the republican party, to build on the demagoguery and the fear to say you are releasing terrorists from the united states to somewhere else. takeworried obama will not the action to do it. i hope he will. i do not know how hillary clinton as the nominee will play it, whether she wanted clear off -- cleared off before he leaves she will sayther don't do that, it will jeopardize the election. i am not confident. let me speak about a few other things karen and andy both spoke about. i am amazed as a washingtonian hearing the debates in congress, on this and other issues, how so much of it is premised on misinformation. that really started in the review that came out in january of 2010. the obama review when they created this category of people who were too dangerous to release. want to see more of that event about guantanamo bay and the issues about its closing, you can go to our website for more information. us from new york is the editor and publisher of the ,ation magazine, katrina heuvel good morning. who did you support? guest: we endorsed bernie sanders, for the third time in the nation's 103rd history, wayne forrest in the primaries in 1980 eight, jesse jackson. in 2008, barack obama. we believeecause this country is facing extraordinary challenges and that bernie sanders, by putting power, theof inequality of a rate economic system at the heart of his campaign and calling as he says for a political revolution, calling on millions of people to join him in a movement, to take back this country from big tanks and big pharma, from insurance companies, to take it back and invent bold ideas which are not with whether it is medicare for all, expanding social security, dismantling the he is a true realist in the sense of understanding we cannot make the bold transformational changes the country demands at this time until we dismantle the rate economic system. the existential crisis of our time. he has put it at the forefront of his agenda. it is an inequality that pervades our system. if you about how bernie's anders 2.5unning, collecting million small donations from people around this country, he has also liberated and freed to advance a boulder agenda. can he make it on cap -- happened on day one? of course not. he is a realist or he understands the political system is broken. but it is the ability and the attempt to repair the broken political system in advance these ideas, not tomorrow but over a time with the power of people and movements as the wind on his back to animate us. theever happens in campaign, bernie sanders has reformed the politics of 2016 and i believe he has put senator clinton -- secretary of state clinton to be able to candidate. he has changed what we think is possible. is something powerful about the possibilities of america, even with the corroded political system we confront and read about day today. host: in part of the endorsement, the editors write that voters can trust sanders because he does not oh his political career to the status quo. -- host: that last point, is that hillary clinton you are referring to? guest: it also makes clear that secretary of state clinton is certainly an experience candidate, someone of grit and character who has really spoken forcefully about core issues close to her hard, voting rights, women's rights, but she is someone who has had a hard time in these last debates, though it did not happen last night at the iowa form, for example, in explaining her speaking fees from goldman sachs and a slew of other investment banks. the money that has gone to the clinton foundation, there are conflicts of interest there that concern us. she has said she will not unilaterally this on the money race, the fundraising race. at the same time, she is build hasrray of super pac's and brought in a lot of big money. i do think that eyes glaze over sometimes when we talk about this, but the way one finances campaign is not necessarily over determine how you lead but it limits. that is why in this city where we have it of its financing system to match, we have seen in the last couple of years it be council transform for more progressive, something we have been fighting for four years. a progressive mayor, women of color who have never imagined running without public financing. we need to think hard about what is that politicians sit in the calling rooms for more hours a day then they sit in conference rooms. i think it is corrosive and bernie sanders is running a campaign of integrity out -- and .ften hissy -- and authenticity there was a poll showing he has the support of 74% among 18-29-year-olds. he is also 50% among independents. that is interesting. i think it is the authenticity and the integrity and the ability to speak in truth telling ways, unencumbered why the big money, willing to take on the entrenched special notrest that have so moved only young people but millions around the country who, by the way, we're done a great disservice by much of the mainstream media in the last month. bernie sanders announced april 30 of the past year. this past summer, he had 25,000 people in rallies across the , sotry, but the media lavished its attention on donald trump, that it did not pay attention to bernie sanders. notuld argue that it was until bernie sanders essentially began to compete with hillary clinton clinton in the fundraising area in the last he broken evenk or brought in more money through small donations, that the media said, wait a minute, maybe he is the real deal and there is a viability factor here. media measuredur the candidate's viability by how much money they raised i think is rotten. donation, someone is not as mortgaged to the powerful interests that dominate our country at this time of staggering inequality. guest this morning is the editor and publisher of nation magazine. talking about their endorsement of bernie sanders and other issues in 2016. if you want to ask questions -- of hillary clinton, you talked about making deals to get things will notashington bring the change so desperately needed. -- in order to get his agenda done? guest: it would not be the bottom line in how he would lead her he spoke forcefully at the iowa for him about how he led in the veteran affairs committee p or he worked effectively with the leading mccain, member of the republican party. he has worked across the aisle with republican house members. areas where you can, not make compromise, you do not lead with compromise, but you find areas of common ground whether on criminal justice reform or surveillance. there are some areas where you have in republicans and democrats make, but to leave that way in this time when i would argue in the republican party has become an x -- an obstructionist party and not a governing party, it seems to me not the most effective way. bernie sanders is saying he would find ways to work, but he would also take it to the states and the cities and he would mobilize people, millions of people, to be the wind at his act so you may not pass something tomorrow but your building something. obama ran a very, yes, we can campaign. all the power to him. i do not know why he changed argue, buts some may he essentially went inside the beltway when he went into the white house. he dismantled organizing for america, which could have been a kind of vehicle to continue mobilizing the people and the movements outside beltway, having an inside-out died strategy that would leverage more effectively what he was trying to do. so i think bernie sanders is learning from that lesson, but it is his nature. he is someone who over the years has been part of move its and has understood the power of having people power and not money power at his back. host: before you go to calls, is endorsement an indictment in any way of the obama administration? progressives have a mixed set of views about the obama administration. there is not one obama administration. i think today about when president obama wisely and mainly his executive power to bend solitary confinement in federal prisons. in the last couple of years, president obama has seemed more liberated from his mantra of finding common ground with republicans to widely use to enact a set of really progressive and independent and effective measures. the problem with president obama in the first couple of years was he went in trying to find common ground because he was essentially elevated as a public and the figure democratic convention in 2004, speaking about there is no red state, ground, fine, let's find where you can. give it a couple of weeks and when mitch mcconnell says the day you are inaugurated that republicans first by already or second priority is to take you down, i think you give it a couple of weeks and then you find a different governing strategy, but i think the president in these last couple of years has found a strong areasg and there are where he has not been as bold and there is always that, but it is not that. it is essentially saying that hillary clinton is a candidate in many ways of continuity at a time of extraordinary change. if i could, we talked to little about foreign policy p or i was struck that the cnn poll out yesterday showed hillary clinton leading by wide margins in her command of foreign policy. few is one of the endorsements that tries to draw out a distinction that is hugely important. experience is a mixed blessing. we have heard a lot about how secretary of state hillary clinton voted for the war authorization in iraq, a vote which senator edward kennedy once said was the most important vote. he voted against the war, that he had ever made in his time in the end it. that he apologized for the vote, but it does not seem he learned the lessons. he pushed for a regime change in libya, leading to a failed date in libya appeared it has become a failed state, she has pushed to topple a side syria. she has lobbied hard to arm syrian rebels, which i think is counter productive. and she has called for a no-fly zone in syria. she has been more of a cold warrior than any of the candidates. she is hawkish. i think the majority of a millions seek diplomacy first foreign policy. war is the last resort. she spoke of that last night in but i feel, it is said to point out, that her record has not shown that. it has and others in the administration, most admirably john kerry, who has truly pushed for diplomacy first when it comes to syria. callers.'s hear from independent line, you are our guests, go ahead. caller: good morning. i like that bernie wants to focus on domestic policy. i think at this time in our country, we need to concentrate on taking care of americans right now and get out of all these aren't of theirs business. he doeseard bernie say not want an american military stationed in the middle east. i've heard him say there will be boots on the ground' in middle east. could you tell me about his record particularly regarding israel? i believe the second week -- secretary clinton is owned by aipac. moved towardave what one might call a j street position. i hope you would check out j street, which we reformed a few years ago as an important aipac, which does not represent the majority of americans use in the country. j street's former consistent with those views. i believe bernie sanders would be an interventionist president. he does not believe americans should be deployed, no boots on the ground. have a request has not called for boots on the ground but he is less interventionist. he believes we do best by rebuilding at home and leading by example. says,not for what he policing the world. america should not alone police the world to we should not be policing the world. he is also someone who has fought very hard against these corporate trade agreements, something hillary clinton has come to very late and i think those agreements have also ravaged the working class in this country, asked her in jobs overseas. he has fought that consistency -- consistently for his close to 30 years in congress. he has adopted a different position toward syria, calling for diplomacy and postponing a decision around the transition away from assad. campaign, the clinton has attacked bernie sanders for calling for a more intensive normalization with iran, that the nuclear deal is one of the more important diplomatic achievements of the obama administration second term. it should not be seen in isolation. it should be in as an opening to iran that should engage the region more effectively. iran has to be part of the syrian diplomatic talks, for example. sanders is arnie strong believer in rebuilding the middle class and rebuilding america and see strength in that, not strength in military ventures abroad. host: from richmond, virginia, on our republican line. caller: i wanted to say i think, i believe that this is pretty much the general election when you talk about anderson hillary clinton. -- sanders and hillary clinton. i feel like, i just wanted to bring to your attention, it just it is the media versus the internet right now. i do not know if anyone has noticed, but it seems like the internet has definitely been backing bernie. when you look at the media, and you look at how the town hall went yesterday, it seems like they are doing whatever they can to cover hillary. i think whatever happens will be a blueprint on everything. it seems like if hillary wins the primary, i feel like democracy will kind of be mocked . i just feel like the us tablets meant only does whatever they can to get hillary in. i feel like if hillary wins, there will be kind of a resistance. it hopefully will not be too bad, but i would see people protesting. i could see another type of occupy wall street happening. i get that right now it is between bernie and donald trump, and i think the establishment, democrat and republican are the same entities. they kind of want to get hillary in there. your: let me unpack question because you have 45 really interesting things owing on their or the media, what is establishment today, the question of hillary versus bernie, bernie versus trump. first of all, as i said earlier, mainstream media for the most part has done a great disservice to this administration in this campaign. donald trump as a reality tv show's use with the endless, obsessive coverage, to a large extent, has pumped him up. really ignoring bernie sanders for so long, and, i would argue, until the first democratic debate, the excessive coverage, there is a legitimate amount of coverage but the excessive coverage of hillary clinton's e-mails. the real problem in this country is not when the republicans go on about liberal buys in media. it is often that we have a corporatized media rigged agnst dublin interest and democracy. it elevates since alicia -- since insatiable list -- it elevates sensationalist. what is the establishment? i will throw out some names people may or may not recognize here at john mccoy or david rock eller. on the top ofple the council on foreign relations. they all went to the same club. and democratic national committees, the parties, are no longer really the establishment. the koch brothers will spend more in this election, close to $1 billion in the republican party. there is a fracturing and in that comes the ability for the internet to lift of a candidate like bernie anderson and social media played a very important role in its fundraising and shows the hour to get around the gate keepers and small donation fundraising and bring people to his rallies. the organizing needed for presidential campaign can also be done through the internet here one thing is the enormous amount of money so going to what i would call the media complex, the advertisements on tv. tv are keeping alive a lot of local media around the country, which is kind of that. i don't know. what we saw last night in iowa and what we have seen with the democratic debates, a race to the top on economic populist issues, i would submit largely because bernie sanders has really driven the agenda and pushed issues like climate change and inequality onto the radar in ways you might not have otherwise been, that is in stark contrast to what we witnessed in the republican debates, which have become stark displays of intolerance, and xenophobia. in that, i think you have a real difference between the two parties. the republicans becoming ever more extremist and never allow people to equate donald trump and bernie sanders. one is a demagogue and the other is a serious candidate with serious solutions to the country's albums. from south carolina, democrats line. caller: good morning. i have been a very big fan of yours, but i will have to disagree with you and the nation today. i believe hillary is the right choice. bernie sanders is a great guy with a lot of good ideas, but he is not electable. we have to get real here. also, i disagree with you on foreign policy. it was hillary clinton that got iran to the negotiation table. she formed a coalition and sanctions. that is what brought iran in. that is now affecting oil. you your youngll people are for bernie, but you have got to remember when populations are stressed, which ours is right now due to the economic situation, they tend to make that decisions. that is what is happening in the bernie sanders phenomenon. you will notice it is young people. not to put a sports analogy on is what they talk about with experience and the quarterback in the super bowl. the person that has been there before tends to be able to get good results. host: thank you. guest: i have a column in the washington post, just posted about an hour ago, which takes on the idea of bernie sanders as a candidate of the heart, and secretary of state clinton as a candidate of the head. one is experienced in one is not. i think experience, as i said earlier, there is also a matter of judgment. look atwe have got to some of the disasters this country has faced in the of thee last decade, whether it is the financial crisis, the pollution of bigger and bigger money in the system, foreign policy, and wonder if the established candidate, the establishment are the ones we need to turn to. they have had their time. we are a big 10. next issue is that we of all kinds of letters. we have columns at the nation.com supporting hillary clinton. our veteran columnist is a supporter of hillary clinton. we are not a monolith, just as the progressive left is not a monolith. there are people in the community who would agree with you. i do not. i also think this is a moment in our political time where i would say it is like never say never. who would've thought nine months ago, he was it two or 3%. he is now at 30%. i think you can dismiss the enthusiasm of the young. but, look at some of the polls where he is in a match of a donald trump. we are not want to put too much on that poll. in the recent, he is doing well among independents. is also the interesting measure that democrats are comfortable of both candidates. i would say that there are openings we have not seen. opening came bernie sanders. it is not just him. this is a movement moment in america. whether this climate justice, the fight for 15 minimum wage. in. black lives matter. dreamers. fight for women's reproductive rights and economic security. all of that is percolating in an opening space. by one keyng to end question seat in iowa. can he translate that enthusiasm among the young into organizing an arcane system of 681 precincts, where he have to show up showdown, stay around? it will be a measure. a lot of these young people have got to bernie sanders rallies. that is not a piece of cake. they have had to wait long lines. the actual rally is not a nirvana concert. sermon about what is going on. the troubles in this country. host: blow me ask you about being from new york and the former mayor michael bloomberg. about beingk you from new york. guest: i counterpart editor of national review. the trump manifesto of essays. the party is in a panic. the establishment, again, has trump eric to donald donald kurt -- ted cruz is the movement activist. he get pushed out of iowa with sarah palin's endorsement. all caps the people are looking at what happens. it was earlier in the season that people thought donald trump might launch a third-party independent run. you know, i think that bloomberg has played with this idea before. the idea of two billionaires running is a statement and our democracy. i'm not a fan of mayor bloomberg. the nation did a special issue two years ago called the gilded city. looking at the extraordinary inequality in the city. mayor bloomberg had no interest in tackling inequality. in tackling the problems of our prison systems. mayor deblasio came into that situation. he is having a tough time. he is failing many of his progressive promises. so, mayor bloomberg on the gun control issue and on the environment has put forward good ideas. run a political campaign as a third-party candidate is extraordinarily difficult. i would like to see political reform. bloomberg has the money. he could probably supplant and overcome some of those obstacles. it is tough. i think he is making noises. i do not think he will jump. host: let's hear from jonathan in new york. go ahead. caller: hello. welcome. forie sanders is known being a democratic socialist. when americans here socialism, their eyes glaze over. they think of hitler and josef stalin. socialismo me that plays an important role in the united states. like social security and medicare public schools. all that stuff. the coast guard. somebody things. it seems to be the capitalist industries that we have a problem with. like the pharmaceutical industry. a fossil fuel industry. private airlines. things like that. guest: absolutely. there's a long tradition to be retrieved in our own great of democratic socialism. the post office. public libraries. public parks. public goods. social security. medicare for all. what interests me is that bernie , as he is essentially laid out what democratic socialism means to him. it might be an unreconstructed new deal. there is a great tradition of that. in addition, i was struck by a register having a poll showing 46% of democratic goers have a positive view of socialism. there is a previous poll of democratic primary voters. , this --er generation we fix it in student debt, watching home-equity wiped out, or pensions, they certainly know it capitalism means they heard the right con obama's socialist so long, they might think it is not too bad. they do not want to make light of it. there's no question that democratic socialism as a tradition in this country -- bernie sanders needs to lift that up. erik fodder wrote an open letter to them published a month or two ago. he said enough with the denmark. i have no problem with denmark. ideasu please route your and the radical democratic ideas of your own country? i think bernie has moved in that direction. host: our guest is the editor in public or -- publisher of the nation. our next caller is charlie from kentucky. go ahead. that seems to me like senator sanders wants to expand the government. i would get with the government does now. he was to expand infrastructure. they can you get the snow off the streets. make our health system a one payer system. look at what they have done with the veterans administration. pros of about the government. you want to make it bigger so there's more corrosion. you bring up the koch brothers, tom stier. there is big money on both sides. my final point is that in response -- my response to you notion of climate change is that if i got in the farm pickup a rock, there's possibly a shellfish and it. the climate is constantly changing. guest: first of all. welcome. my husband is from kentucky. theknow, let's look at crisis, the disaster in flint, michigan. that is not a case of too big government. that is a case of government failing to invest in clean water, clean air. it is a corrupted government. it is an unaccountable government with emergency managers. it is the example of what happens when the government cuts costs and does a disservice, a real this service to people. it is also about race. bernie sanders is talking about taking back the government that has been captured by lobbyists and big banks. cleaning it up and making it work for the common good. allidea of his medicare for . medicare has been one of the greatest achievements in the country's history. the veterans medical care has worked brilliantly for years. faced a crisis because of corruption and lack of accountability. also the lack of accountability comes because most republicans, not all cut funds for monitoring. for accountability. then, you get the special interests. bernie sanders plan for medicare for all would do one interesting thing. at the monument, we have seven health care lobbyist for every member of congress. , we wantre lobbyists to help them find other jobs. they would be out of a job if universal health care became the law the land. it is not overnight. aca inforget that in the 2017. states had the ability to pilate a single-payer medicare fraud plan. you could see beginning of that with a president who is in support of such efforts. and not dismantling obamacare. that is not happening. senators has sanders said no way. he wants to change, but not dismantle. twitter talks about martin o'malley asking you if you believe that he should drop out. host: i want to get your general impressions of him and his campaign. guest: i did an interview with governor o'malley a few months ago. he has really moved to speak eloquently about inequality. really passionately. first and foremost about immigrant rights. but the horse of immigrant detention. he was very forthright and smart about a plan to deal with puerto rico's debt crisis. he has called out donald trump in ways that other democrats have not. the nation has given him attention. we believe he has been a good force. gained traction is something for political scientists and historians to study. i think that in iowa although he said last night that he will stand strong and calling his supporters here i think it is important for him to make a decision about what he might tell his supporters to do. his supporters support for sanders or clinton will be very important. i will not call on anyone to drop out. i wish more people would run. i'm excited. i wish more young people -- not just participate in movements, but also run for office. we need allies inside. i'm very excited about many in the state. she ran a great race. she was in the 19th congressional district. a great anticorruption trust busting inequality fighting candidate. in washington state, i believe in the seventh district and extraordinary stander -- senator from ella. she is running. these are great women, great candidates. we have themore in, ability both with the movements outside, with the energy outside, and the candidates inside to make some real change. that is another reason bernie sanders is exciting. he is really someone who understands that strategy. host: nick from florida. you are up. caller: hello. good morning. thank you for c-span. i love the opportunity to follow up after she makes comments. i will vote for either bernie or hillary. preferably bernie. don't forget to was not going to mention this. medicare has a 3% administrative cost. compared to the private industry of 17%. i am a believer in medicare for all. system of campaign contributions is the root of evil in american politics. without changing that, we do not change much. i thought that donald trump and bernie sanders seems like they will possibly bring nonvoting types in. more interested in politics. maybe possibly convert the nonvoting types into voters. they are entertaining. perhaps donald trump is more entertaining than bernie. there something about the entertainment value of these not talked think is about. i wonder to what extent that might scare some establishment types on both sides. maybe donald trump could undergo a transformation. a metamorphosis and possibly redeem himself in some way for the things that he has done in that may not necessarily been for the public good. host: we will leave it there and let our guest respond. that in termsink of bernie sanders what we are witnessing is what you're saying which is that he is bringing out people who have not voted is bringing up people who are not interested in politics because they thought it was distasteful or corroded. his message is reaching people so, it feels also look towards a general direction, will be critical is his enthusiasm to get people out to vote. our voting numbers from the midterms have declined. also, this idea of a wave election which could mean a down ballot. congress, senate, you have more voters out. that is a good thing. donald trump is a shock jock. he is reality tv. he is ugly and his entertainment value. him, i see less of a chance of really converting those people to voting. i might be wrong. there is a sense that people are coming for a reality show. bernie sanders, i will be honest, i don't think he is that entertaining. i think useful of substance. he is passionate. he cares. he has integrity. , it is ald trump reality show. people like to watch it and then go do something else. i'm not sure. there's no question that you're seeing these huge rallies. you're seeing great enthusiasm. i do not know where the donald trump phenomenon is going. it is so much me, me, me. what he said the other day that even if he shot someone and 5th avenue, no one would leave him. he would have all the supporters. then, the most insidious thing is the way he space about deporting immigrants. this is just anti-american. i do not know what he brings. i see a lot of poison. however, he does speak in a way the kind of republican financial bigwigs crazy. thealks about -- unpatriotic corporations shipping jobs overseas. i suspect his copies have done so to. he talks about it. you know, he appeals to people. will they vote? that is the question. there is a lot of organizing going on. bernie has younger voters. will they vote? will they come out? host: from georgia. independent line. go ahead. caller: hello. i'm an independent. i am a black female of 58 years old. bernie does bring some authenticity if you can believe him. hillary, it ish almost like the democrats have quarantined her. we as americans cannot make our own judgments. , i'm sos donald trump glad he is there. it is because he is doing what the republicans have always done. use fear. he is just on steroids. i'm glad to see he is out there doing that. boldnesshe has the that i wish on the democratic side that we really did have. i have seen her how she does that. and her foreign policy is atrocious. let me speak for myself, as a black female, i am not locked into the democratic party. i cannot be herded. i resent the fact that she feels like when she speaks obama's name, that all black people will fall in line with this misinformation. we are not monolithic. we do not all think the same. guest: that is important. we ended upeasons doing this burning endorsement , wehat over one year ago called for contested primaries. we deserve a clash of ideas. we do have a range of candidates vying for the votes of people. if your member, over a year ago, it was an inevitable factor that hillary clinton would be the nominee. that is not good. that is not healthy. so, we wanted to challenge that. did we know bernie sanders a year ago would run? we did not. there was an elizabeth warren campaign that did not come together. bernie sanders coming in has really changed politics 2016. he is one in many ways by elevating issues that countries need to hear. i also take to heart what you said about no monoliths. i think there was this narrative that african-american voters would come out unified for hillary clinton. i think that is a disservice to the african-american community. they have a range of interests and politics. they are always talking about south carolina being a firewall for clinton. saying that the african-american community will save her. bernie sanders has not really introduced himself yet. he is not a brand name in the way that hillary clinton is. he is also speaking to issues that have appeal a many, including african-americans. host: with the endorsement, can you tell us about the process of how it came about. who was involved and who was there. was it a unanimous effort? guest: we have an editorial board that meant -- met in october. at the end of this past year, the editorial staff of the nation met. we met to discuss this. there was more discussion in early january. i speak that to the editorial board. it was close to unanimous decision that this was the correct thing to do. there were a few key editors. joan walsh, our terrific national affairs correspondent. magazine with the larger editorial board decision. we also had interplay with readers and social media. and that is how the decision was made. it was also something we have been covering bernie sanders for close to 30 years. his issues and have animated many of the nation. candidate to find a whose principles and value issues so closely sink and the right moment. , it was that that led us. from arkansas. republican line. thank you for waiting. caller: good morning. bernie and the young people, neither one are stupid. bernie knows that if he gives them free college and pays off their school debt, gives them a lot of free medicine, he is going to get their vote. what he is not telling them is end, when they get run out of other people's money, it will look like russia in the 50's and 60's. they will have empty fields and stores. there were be a lot of dead people. just like russia. -- youas george soros did not mention him with the koch brothers. guest: i am happy to mention that. first of all, this is the richest country in the world. bernie sanders, last night, spoke to something that i think is a great idea of our time. it is not new. it used to be called the coping tax. it is now legislation in congress. it is essentially tax wall street to rebuild main street. there is a small speculation tax on trade, on currency speculation that could be retrieved and used to do public investment in this country. so, i think that to talk to a squandering money on debt, college debt, or on health care is wrong, there are good deficit and not good deficits. clear that we would need a deficit with our text her. investment in the future of the country is the greatest thing you can do. made a joke that he was less of a socialist than dwight eisenhower, the republican president. at 90%.he rich is bernie sanders is not talking about that. we have the funds, if our priorities are correct, to make the correct decisions. in terms of tom starr and george soros, is a false equivalent. they are billionaires. by no means have they pumped the kind of money into our political system that the koch brothers have. -- there not done it is an idea that the koch brothers are strategic. one thing we find about the koch ,rothers is that they are essentially making a good business investment with their money. buying themselves out through deregulation, which is a huge issue for them. they are buying themselves out of a lot of criminal cases. their companies have been involved in some of the biggest cases -- environmental pollution -- in those arenas. it is a business decision for them. their work on criminal justice reform. it is interesting they are in these coalitions. one thing that became clear soon was part of their interest was to lift, find, penalties for white-collar environmental criminals. yes to take it in terms when you try to draw the equivalent between the coax and george stiers. the editor and publisher of the nation, joining us to talk about the endorsement of bernie sanders. thank you for your time. guest: thank you. host: until the end of the show it will be open phones. if you want to call and make a comet coming here is how you can do so 202-748-8000 four democrats. 202-748-8001 four republicans. independents, 202-748-8002. we will take a phones when washington journal continues. ♪ >> c-span's campaign 2016 is taking you on the road to the white house but i will caucus. monday, february 1 our coverage begins on c-span and c-span2. we'll bring you live pre-caucus coverage. taking phone calls, tweets, and tax. then, we'll go to the republican caucus. and, the democratic caucus on c-span2. see the event live. be sure to stay with us and join in on the conversation on c-span radio and a c-span.org. >> washington journal continues. host: from now until the end of the program, with open phones. you can call us at 202-748-8000 four democrats. 202-748-8001 republicans. 202-748-8002 independents. in the washington post, barack obama taking a look at the issue of solitary confinement. the piece is titled rethinking solitary confinement. he says many of the hundred thousand people in solitary confinement in years prison, including juveniles and people of mental illnesses. as many as 25,000 inmates are serving months and years with almost no human contact. the department has completed a review of this. i am adopting the recommendations to include those banning solitary confinement for juveniles. and expanding treatment for the mentally ill and increasing the amount of time inmates in solitary can spend outside of their cell. 10,000teps will go from and hopefully serve as a model for safe local corrections. again, that op-ed by the president is there today. we will look at other stories. let's start with ben in nebraska. elk creek, nebraska. go ahead. it should be called the allison care and set of obamacare. he was an insurance man. he really pushed as year back when we had the hmos health maintenance organization. ellis, like what ryan sanders once a sin. -- bernie sanders wants us in. 40%, and that puts everybody on a cradle to the grave. then, another thing we have to get rid of with the , i'll gore wonay the popular vote. he should've been the president. they just amazing how cannot say if you lose your doctor and obamacare, but the i did not lose a doctor. you never lost your doctor. host: front page of the des moines register takes a look at last night's townhall on cnn featuring the three democratic candidates. that was hillary clinton, bernie sanders, and martin o'malley. onstage at the iowa caucus six days away. you go to the concord monitor out of new hampshire, we have a profile of chris christie. and thenh is a priority white house talks about the time that he is spending there. vincent, university of washington. independent line. caller: hello. my comment is this. thank you for taking my call. that we get the support that bernie sanders is also in newd hampshire. attractive. we have three forms of government that i cannot imagine congress told him with any of these policies. it was so difficult for president obama to get health care policies through. certainly, it would not be attractive for bernie sanders to get anywhere near the kind of support on his policies to get them through congress. so, i think people have to look carefully at what is factual. what will you be able to accomplish if you vote for bernie sanders? josh is next on the democrats line. good morning. go ahead. caller: i want to talk about ted cruz. fact, i called in before. he was born in canada. that should have been a discussion reference to that. get any traction on that. now, finally, they are beginning to bring it up. especially with donald trump talking about the fact that how much he likes ted cruz. and one time he was going to offer $1 million just for somebody to check out the president's birthplace. they are discussing ted cruz. i am so happy about that. host: the washington times takes a look at the congressional budget office. feds blame looming tax hikes in the president's health care law. it goes on to say over the next one trillionping in 2022. the deficit is reaching 2026. reachlations of that will 18 trillion at the end of 2015. 29.3 trillion in 2026. take a look at the causes and the short-term media. increases under the president's policy. including the affordable care act. in virginia. republican line. caller: i watch some parts of the csn -- cnn poll. my comments have to do with the mainstream media and the bias. they are all democrats. he gave hillary clinton the biggest kiss i've ever seen. it is like they are dating. here's my point. do the moderators from nbc, cbs, cnn, have ever seen them kiss carly fiorina? no. the democrats normally will say that the republicans have talk radio. rush limbaugh, sean hannity. let me tell you. barack obama does not go on those shows. hillary clinton will not be interviewed by those people. you cannot get bernie sanders to attend anything that is run by a republican. when we have republican debates have three democrats and one republican asking questions. on mbc gift to democrats and one republican. on abc give george stephanopoulos. keep in mind, he is part of the war room. he was a communications director for the clinton white house. he was in the war room with them. and james carville. and hillary clinton. how they would ruin monica lewinsky and all these others. it is a factual situation that republicans always go on tv and are being asked questions by democrats. anthonyt's go next to for maryland. independent line. llo. caller: good morning. you said you would get you some articles in the paper. i someone earlier in the new york times. a disney was found to hire people with h-1 diseases, bringing immigrants and so they can have cheap labor. host: there is a lawsuit related to that. you had. caller: i was going to say. that goes to the stupidness of donald trump supporters who are complaining about immigrants coming in, when he and other business people, all businesses seem to cater to the immigrant labor. cheap labor in this country. that is why we have this problem with immigrants coming in and all the cheap labor. and nobody been able to find a job. his supporters were not hired by trial. he brags that he has hired many thousands of immigrants. shows how business in this country has gone. if you vote for republican, you'll get more of the same. host: you still my thunder about that story. there are days. taking a look at these lawsuits. you can read that in the new york times. also, new york times. we also have sign-ups under the affordable care act. this is markov katz, saying that forlower forecast obamacare, saying that when the affordable care act was drafted, the congressional budget expected people to find out quickly, it is clear that it will be slower. the obama administration theywledged in late 2014, presented their own modest prediction. they are also flashing their 2016 estimate by close to 40%. the marketplace has millions of americans to get health insurance. talked to the analyst that they have uninsured. to express word about new health insurance. and harder to get people to show up for new health insurance they have not had yet. from livingston texas, good morning. caller: good morning. i think we are choking on the nats and swallowing the cables. people need to put their fanny in the chair or in the chamber. have some of you read it to you if you cannot manage it. thank you. so much time off while they are working hard. unreal. they ought to be sitting on their chair. 2080 hours a year. host: what you think they should be focused on? figuring out how to get along with each other would be a big help. plain talk. it in front of the voters. on your tv station where we can hear them. they all get up and give a one minute cheerleader speech. that is lovely. they all end up saying they want to revise, which means change what i said. and then expand, which means it goes on and on. my remarks, that is ridiculous. if you have something to say that is important, get up there and say it. it is just so silly. i just feel sorry for america. host: thank you so much for calling. the former new york governor was out of the way -- race for the white house. there's another person running. he said marco rubio was the best person. willy, from katy texas. -- er: caller: caller: when you are in the book fair in austin. i just wanted to let you know. i want to pass this on to any young person listening. everything bernie sanders is offering, it all looks nice to you now. you will be paying for this stuff for years when she talks about the u.s. being the richest country in the world. whose money is that? for the guy who just called in about ted cruz's citizenship, stop being a low information voter. read the constitution. the man is a citizen. stop being a stooge for either party. host: when it comes to this like? who do you caller: ted cruz. why do you like them so much? caller: when we talk about the establishment, when you know what that man had to go through to get his citizenship -- get his senator ship, how he had to against them republican establishment here in texas, and now, the establishment nationally. the man is a rock star. this country cannot be great in this or go back to constitutional values. he is the man. host: from louisiana, floyd on our independent line. hello. caller: good morning, good morning, good to see you. i am calling to regard to the troopers and organ holding the federal land hostage. oregon, holding the land hostage. they have that situation over there in nevada. what was his name? he owed the government millions of dollars. he was still running his cows on federal land. of is the kind of things that do not know the constitution. we are a country of laws. somehow, they do not know how to handle that. host: what do i hear from the candidates? known -- caller: how they will handle that situation. that is government property. they have guns over in nevada. they're pointing weapons of federal authorities. what happened to that situation? host: how do you want to be handled? caller: i want to know how they would handle it. host: let's go to dave in massachusetts. caller: hello. i like to say one thing. that we willidea never get single-payer, so let's just work over the republicans and fix obamacare. the republicans have voted over 50 times to take away obamacare. who in the congress will work with hillary to fix it? host: apologies for that. trade issues here, as far as the campaign is concerned, there is a new study by the peterson institute that takes a look at the transpacific partnership and what it might do. the founders of that study are will notat the lifting have too many specifics. the united states the analyst said it will increase real, -- income by $130 billion annually. that is a measure of the country's total economic output. about 357uld increase billion, or 9.1% above previous projection. the displacement of workers in the industry must volatile to competition would be relatively small. involvement and movement of workers throughout the industry. they would increase less than 0.1%. good morning, charles, new jersey. republican line. caller: good morning. i'm a black guy calling in from new jersey. when the poor states in the nation. i have noticed something. i am out of the marine corps. i'm looking at this thing. with respect to the republicans, if they disagree, they tried to persuade you. however, when you disagree with the democrat, you are in -- you are considered evil. suddenly, you're no longer a human being. they never address what you say. the demagogue the issue. for example, in respect to donald trump, when he talks about banning muslims coming over until we can figure what is going on, what he said was never addressed. everything except what he said. i saw a lady in great britain who is having a discussion about banning donald trump for his comments. never once did they talk about what he is talking about. they mention everything but that. issues practicing islam the way preaches, she would not even have her feet of the table. all the stuff, i watch the democratic debate last night, for crying out loud, bernie sanders and socialism, his exclamation of it, is this country ready for that? it has failed everywhere. it is a complete failure. this country was built on capitalism. we want to change." it is ridiculous. understand people are down. people need hope. we need to turn to our own constitution. we to look at real leaders. , he exudesp exudes success. he is unabashed. he is unashamed. he is unapologetic. he is the man. he will give us back our manhood. host: charles from new jersey. if you go to the washington post, and profiles donald rumsfeld. and involvement in the development of an app you can buy for your phone. the app developer take root no longer goes to 1970 through when he was u.s. ambassador to nato. he became friendly with winston churchill during world war ii. the british prime minister topic diplomat the rules of solitaire, which involved two decks of cards and a modification called the double six. rumsfeld, who has been playing the version ever since, eliza for the same reason churchill did. a few years ago, church hill suggested that the game the listed as an official. revenue from the sales will go to charities that help members of veterans. jim, norwood new jersey, democrat line. hello. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. i'm 64 years old. i say that it is time for a new fdr. reagan will gold through the unions with all the jobs in the money left in the united states. and, everyone now in my neighborhood is one sickness away from bankruptcy. anybody that says socialism does not work, what about social security and medicare yet to it runs at two or -- 2-3%. there is no way in the world that a private insurance company could work at such a rate. i do just -- i just do not see why people cannot accept the having a single-payer. that is what i have to say. highlightingapers this out of texas take a look at planned parenthood videos. saying that the grand jury investigation, a video planned allegation, parenthood was illegally selling fetal tissue. instead, it indicted people in the making of the video. the grand jury and harris county was charged with trying to tamper. it was also indicted on the misdemeanor charge of prohibition of the sale of human organs. harris county district attorney donators instead in a statement that the grand jury declined to indict anyone from planned parenthood of the gulf coast. planned parenthood officials say it worked dramatically as the videos released in may 2015. we'll talk about these videos. if you want to see that interview, they go to our website at c-span.org. fred is in huntsville, alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm going to say something that needs to be said. i have tremendous respect and appreciation for police officers. spent 25 years the military. you could not pay me enough to be a police officer. we lost the last three generations of young people. ory do not respect anybody anything. themselves, each other, authority. they do not respect anything anymore. i do not think it is about race. i think is about frustration. day out they have to deal with the defiance and disrespect from these young people. that is where say you cannot pay me enough to be a police officer. every opportunity i get time i see a policeman, thank him for the service. imagine if nobody wanted to go out there put up with the crowd. you people who like to jump on police officers and trash them. just think about what they have to deal with. thank you. host: stephen in virginia. on a republican line. hello. one thing about donald trump i want to say is that i am a trump supported. one thing we are missing is that he is not a politician. they're trying to make them into one. he would be totally happy to go for one term to get things done. most people trying to get in office, what they think about is how to get reelected. he does not care. he will do what is right for the country. he will do it has to be done. he is not going to worry about people being politically correct to get it done. worst is the point where both parties, the republican party and the democratic party have done this. aboutple would just think this, we have elected politicians for the last 50 years. that is why we are where we are. that is where like him. host: democratic candidates involved in that town hall, going to iowa,'s -- i was specifically. bernie sanders is being named one of them. today, 11:00, you can see that on c-span. listen to it on c-span radio. you can go to our website for more information. hillary clinton will be speaking tonight at 9:30 this evening. look for more information on the website. from florida. democratic line. caller: good morning. this free stuff republicans keep talking about, did they forget it is the corporations that are getting free stuff for decades in the form of huge tax cuts without any responsibility of , subsidies, stash and their money overseas." -- overseas? of theinton was speaking jobs overseas. evtually, millions of americans lost their jobs overseas. do not forget don't ask don't tell. that was a rude policy towards gays that force them to stay hidden. also, clinton's criminal justice bill hurt millions of young people by incarcerating them for minor charges. glass-steagall opened the judging for millions of americans, black and white. wake up folks. host: weather picture on the cnn website of the iranian president and the pope. their meeting at the vatican. they are meeting to discuss issues saying that the leader of the roman church and the president met tuesday. speaking on was what would change the political landscape. the cameras captured the pope and the president shaking hands and sitting down across the table. no details were given. cnn goes on to say they have a lot to talk about. i had a long more and the humanitarian crisis. they said it would endanger christians. they officially called beall romm -- islamic republic of iran following the striking of a deal. , the a story this morning paper is taking a look at these talks that are set to begin on friday. this coming friday. the new york times takes a look at it. they're saying that the peace talks for the first two years have been installed a largely over who would stand in regards to the opposition. these various opposition groups went to hide the negotiation committee. they said it would meet on tuesday to discuss participation. russia has called for separate delegation. and it supports said it was close to the syrian government. they are designed to fracture the rubble of her complicated matters, they have the syrian kurdish war. joined by lisa from california. independent line. you.r: thank i will like to correct something said last friday by your guest from the university of chicago. he is saying that the obamacare medicaid expansion was not being used by the southern states. it by talking about prejudice. he talked about it in the past. why, he said i do not know they do not join in. optionally, that the choice whether to join it to the medicaid expansion. he said it done -- i do not know why the federal funds are there. what they said is that the states have to match the federal front in order to be included in the expansion. host: ok. again, if you go to our website, with archives of all the various programs include on this program. including the discussion about single-payer -- single-payer health care. that did the discussion that took place at c-span.org. from wisconsin, our next republican line. how are you? caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. what ever happened to the true investigative reporters. does anybody remember susan mcdougal of watergate? are mr. hubbell? the chief of staff. both of these people were willing to go to prison rather than tell the truth about the clintons. really, mr.dering, hubbell really said he had to roll over again with everybody remembering that comment. ?ow are these people today wears their income? does it come from the clinton foundation keep paying them to shut up you go where are the investigative reporters? let's hear from you. do your job. matthew in alabama. democrat. caller: yes. thank you. the military is socialism. the police force is socialism. every politician that gets taxpayer money is a socialist. ross from illinois, independent line. hello. i have been a nurse from 44 years. of the civil program to create jobs in the depression under fdr. my concern is public policy. the public policy of these political candidates. i support single-payer. what people do not understand why talk about the huge cost of health care per person in the united states, they had poor outcomes compared to other developing countries. it is the administrative cost. we have a huge over 20%. i, myself have health care. i have my deductible under private payer. privatization whether it is health care or prisons or schools. health care is not supporting the working person in this country. and, i just feel that the republican party positions are not leading this country. for example, with the veterans administration. the republicans created a war to increase the number of veterans. then they impose budgetary constraints on the governmental services. want to turn around and criticize the veterans administration. which has great people trying to that are just beyond them in capacity. there the volume of veterans. so, my son is a military veteran from iraq. he served in your ramadi. i just want to see a candidate that can win who is going to support policies that help the average american citizen. it creates a cash structure that ships back the assets in the united states from the 1/10 of 1%. host: we got to. the president and his administration taking a look at evening rules when it comes to the creation of 401(k)s. michael shaye saying that president obama will impose the --get, a rule that will had added 41 k retirement for workers, even if it are in different industries. small industries can also -- already banned together. the current law discourages them from doing so. businesses are not closely related. they know that some auto dealerships have united to create retirement plans for their workers. from the labor secretary, thomas perez says the president will propose specific changes to promote the broader use of the program. often dealing with a multiple employer plan. add said the changes will guidance that stands in the way of such plans. brian, republican line, vancouver washington. hello. my comments about donald know, he is all about himself. he is not for the people at all. i think that if he got elected. he would be more narcissistic than obama. he will get in and cut deals and try to make himself look great. he does not care about the people. anybody becomes president will enrich themselves. trump will excel and enriching himself if he were elected. host: that is brian from washington. this is the end of our program. another edition of this program comes your way, we'll see you then.

Related Keywords

Arkansas , United States , Nevada , Alabama , Cedar Rapids , Iowa , Syria , Elk Creek , Nebraska , Connecticut , San Francisco , California , Mexico , Charlotte , North Carolina , Massachusetts , Libya , Chicago , Illinois , Canada , Missouri , Afghanistan , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Town Hall , Virginia , Georgia , Oregon , Ramadi , Al Anbar , Iraq , Michigan , Puerto Rico , Denmark , New Jersey , Boulder , Colorado , Maryland , Capitol Hill , District Of Columbia , Louisiana , Vermont , Alaska , China , Delaware , Russia , Harris County , Texas , Washington , Des Moines , Richmond , New Orleans , South Carolina , Smyrna , Izmir , Turkey , Williamsburg , Jersey , New York , New Hampshire , Iran , Kentucky , Marshalltown , Boston , Florida , Tuscaloosa , Wisconsin , United Kingdom , Tennessee , Israel , Ohio , Paris , Rhôalpes , France , Americans , America , Iranian , British , American , Iowans , Canadian , Britain , Syrian , Winston Churchill , Marco Rubio , Katrina Heuvel , Elizabeth Warren , Joe Biden , John Kasich , Pat Roberts , Ronald Reagan , Tom Stier , Martha Sanger , Michael Bloomberg , Carla Tipton , Ron Johnson , Hillary Clinton , John Kerry , Chris Christie , Russell Fein , Edward Kennedy , Rick Santorum , Joan Walsh , Anderson Hillary Clinton , Sean Higgins , Sean Hannity , George Stephanopoulos , Tom Starr , John Mccain , Bernie Sanders , Joe Sestak , George Soros , Hillary , Bryan Sanders , Dwight Eisenhower , Jesse Jackson , Los Angeles , Josef Stalin , Wayne Forrest , Charles Glassey , Monica Lewinsky , Carly Fiorina , Barack Obama , S Michael Shaye , Sarah Palin , Bernie Anders , Susan Mcdougal , Mitch Mcconnell , Bernie Anderson , James Carville , Harry Reed , Donald Rumsfeld , Thomas Perez , Ted Cruz ,