From washington journal, this is 30 minutes. Welcome back the president of the interfaith alliance, as we talk about civility in american politics. Its something Many Americans are not talking about. Lets talk about your organization. What is it . Whats your mission . Guest thanks, steve. Our organization is about 20 years old. Our tag line is protecting faith and freedom. We approach the First Amendment from a faithbase and had constitutional perspective in the hopes of protecting the rights of all americans to freedom of conscience and protecting the government and the people from interfering with each other on matters of religion. We were formed about 20 years ago in response to the rise of radical right in the religious community who tried to impose their agenda, continue to do that in our country. Host is the First Amendment under assault . Guest its always under assault. People love the protections of the First Amendment, but sometimes, in exercises those protections, they try to deny them to others. Our task is to make sure that doesnt happen. Host this is one survey, and there have been lot, usa today, quinnipiac. This is from cbs news, the president s Approval Rating is at 46 , 36 disapprove. The congressional Approval Rating, 29 disapprove behalf congress is doing. My question is, the tone of this story from cbs is that americans debate becoming increasingly uncivil. Why . Guest i think civil sit something modeled by people in public life. People have always had nasty arguments with each other, but generally we have seen a protection of civility by people who practice Public Discourse on issues. That simply is not happening these days. Worry seeing politicians in an attempt to get elected are reaching for the controversial rather than the enlightening. Host is the tone and civility of u. S. Political debate Getting Better . 68 say its getting worse. 24 say its about the same. Is that the fault of the president or the media . Is it congress . Where do you lay the blame . Guest i try tonight lay the blame on anybody. Instead, i try toen courage personal responsibility. Civility is something that happens because an individual makes a choice. It is not something that is legislated, and its certainly not something that is going to be either corrected or corrupted because we make a pronouncement about whether you start it or youre rubber, im glue, whatever that happens to be. I think it needs to be modeled at the top, and i think that the president of the united and social oral issues needs to model that for the American People. Host is the tone of the current political debate encouraging violence . Overall, americans say 73 yes, 68 among republicans, 85 among dems, 68 among independents. Here would you put yourself . Guest i would caution people looking for root cause of violence in the rhetoric of others. Once again, the actions that people take are a matter of personal choice. Theyre not governed by the sometimes intemperate rhetoric of other people. Host let me get your reaction from weekly standard, check it out online at weeklystandard. Com, by the time donald trump proclaimed i am officially running for president of the United States, voters were already consuming the countrys omnipresent politics and the accompanying outrage guest i think thats a pretty wise statement. I dont ascribe the power of creation to the president of the United States. A scribe the power of modeling. Weve had lots of people in our country, in the leadership, people who have simply stepped into the void of leadership in the past who have modeled conversations, modeled interaction for our country. The president is first among them. I would agree, we cant blame him for what we have, but we can certainly hold him responsible for fanning the flames. Host did we have more civility after the japanese attacked herl harbor and after 9 11 . How did we get away from that . Does it take a crisis to create civility . Guest we have more civility at each other after the japanese bombed pearl harbor, but not toward the japanese. Rhetoric looks for a victim in politics. When that victim is someone who is acted against the country against society, thats where the bile is corrected. Unfortunately what we have now is the casting of political opponents as demons or as evil human beings, and thats why incivility in this country is rampant, because were not listening to each other. Were calling each other names. Host you offered a blessing to barack obama and joe biden as they were sworn into their second term, january of 2013. Guest i did. Host what did you tell them . Guest that i hoped that when they went to sleep each night, they were exhausted from the good work that they were doing to improve the world. I wished them the rest and dreams to get up the next morning ready to do the good work of creating a better world. Host what would your blessing be for donald trump . Guest great question. That he would have the wisdom to tend to the business of the nation. Host phone calls, our guest is jack moline, head of the interfaith alliance. Is being, is independent line, good morning. Welcome to the conversation. Caller hey, steve, good morning. Host good morning. Caller jack, how you doing . Man, this subject is so appropriate, and it is welltimed. Steve, thanks for bringing it up today. I just to want make points about what goes on among politicians. I know a couple of politicians. Theyre like lawyers. When i was young, im 69 years old, ill be 70 in august. We have three tv stations, we did you not have 24 7 coverage of politics and politicians, doesnt matter by the way, im an independent, but anyway, thats another subject. Today we have social media, we have twitter. We have facebook. We have politicians we have access to all day long, spewing their opinions about issues, and rightly so. Theyre very passionate about their issues, but we got to understand, theyre not going to lose the form. They know theyre on tv. Theyre posturing for votes all the time. And what we need to realize is these people, not me, because i know better, but a lot of people around the country are looking at stuff, and before you know it, theyre facebook, telling, you know, somebody what somebody said on tv, and some rumor is running like wild fire, somebody wants to shoot somebody. What they dont understand, and these guys on every side of the aisle, on saturday and sunday, are over in the country club playing golf together. Theyre good friends. They chat. They socialize together. Theyre just being politicians. Do you remember when trump won and somebody said what are you going to do about hillary, he said i dont want to harm the clintons, all that mess he was talking about before him, it was political, for lack of a better term b. S. Barbara bush loves bill clinton. They dont like his politics. She said, i love bill clinton, i love the clintons. So people, please, just calm down and relax and understand that these folks in washington are just doing their job. Theyre not going to miss the chance to try to attract people for the next election. Host thanks for weighing in. Our first caller, well get a response. Guest i think youre right. Information is not the same ads orientation. Most people who are in the business of providing information to the American Public understand, as was said a long time ago, that the medium is the message. Agree with you. I have a lot of friends who are republicans, a lot of friends who are democrats, and a lot of friends who, like you, are independent. I thank you for pointing out its not personal, its politics. Host was there ever civil knit politics . The adams and jefferson election comes to mind. Theres this from michael, politics has never been about manners. The general population has now gotten down to where the Political Class lives and works. Heres this tweet, its difficult to have civil knit american politics with such an uncivil leader. I want to share what was in the New York Times after the shooting that took place in alexandria, virginia, last month, any debate about civility in politics begins with trump. No one has degraded discourse more while embracing the fringe. His view, its fact, not opinion. Guest that event happened not floor my home, so its very close to home. I remind everybody that the shooter was somebody who was who identified with the left and not the right, so we cant put this kind of action on one group or another. Again, i dont think we can legislate civility here, but i think we have to model it. The president of the United States has the bully pulpit, and it should be his behavior, his conduct, his values that set the tone for the nation. I cant put the responsibility for my behavior at the feet of donald trump being but i can certainly put the validation that have kind of behavior on the person who commands the bully pulpit. Host connie from new jersey, democrats line. Good morning, with jack moline of the interfaith alliance. Caller good morning. Ou should know me. Going to be 77 years old. Was born in 1940. And span the spanish civil war, Second World War ii. So ive been there. Ive been in fashion, and now im scared to death. First thing they do is like, you turn 16, you have to have an i. D. Second thing, we have another way, you dont think the way they think, you run, so you can small to keep your mouth shut. It ever goes against you, is fake news or whatever, its like comparing. When i saw President Trump yesterday giving out his pitch in religion to all, religion is not like that. The religion will allow a lot of damage to this world. Host thank you for the call and comment. Well get a response. Guest first of all, please be cautious, but dont be afraid. America is not europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Nowhere in this world right now is europe in the 1930s and 1940es because weve had that experience already. And like you, we know how to recognize many of the signs of decay. America has a strong heritage of freedom and civility, and lofts people like you and me and the other callers are not willing to give those freedoms away. Host lets go to henry, wisconsin, independent line. Good morning. Caller good morning. I never miss your show. I see it every morning. Im 67 years of age. I remember when donald trump came out, id like say hes lying, cheating, and stealing, and heres the reason hes lying. Hes lying to the American People when he come out and said i will not touch social security, medicare, or medicaid. And then what does he do . Hes going after medicaid. Hes a liar. My grandmother, when she raised me up, they said theres two people you cant trust am you cant watch a liar. You can watch a thief. But you cant watch a liar. Once they lie to you, dont ever talk to them again, because theyll keep on lying. That covers the lying part. The cheating part and the theyving part comes from where donald trump builds a college, and a child saves up his entire college fund, and until you go to his education, looking forward to the finest college in the world, because with trump, youre going to be placed in the best job that you could ever be placed in from any college in the world, and they pay their money, and trump says bankruptcy, byebye, but im not your money and im gone. Host thank you. Well get a response. Guest kenny, thank you for helping me draw the fine line distinction between criticizing behavior and calling into question the character of an individual, and thats the line between debate and incivility. Mr. Trump may or may not have lied purposely or coincidentally, but calling him a liar is what drags the debate away from the issues and into personal matters and distracts us. Host this is from neo, too pad it cannot peacefully coexist. Not new, but nor right now. Guest i agree with that entirely. Its not beyond our reach. Host katherine, republican line from pennsylvania, good morning. Caller yes. Host go ahead, katherine. Caller we have two president s that were in this last he protection. We had President Trump, whos president now, and we also had president obama that was out on the campaign trail for hillary clinton, speaking publicly, and he was not using this court that youre saying, that trump he was totally he was arrogant and whatever as trump is. Trump has only dished out what he has been dished to. His family was attacked, and he was attacked. He recoursed from what he was being talked about and what was being told about him personally. Attacks like that is going to naturally just attack right back. The civility youre talking about needs to go both ways. The democrats right now are act tag. Republicans arent attacking back. Host can you do me a favor . Can you stay on the line . I want to give our guest a chance to respond and show you something from last weeks press briefing and i want to get your reaction. Stay with us. Katherine . Caller yes, im here. Guest let me respond this way. Im sure there are plenty of examples of uncivility on the part of every politician, and certainly there were times when president obamas remarks were intemperate, just as there are going to be times that President Trump or anybody, any president is going to offer intemperate remarks. I think you would have a hard time suggesting that the climate of discourse that was set by the Obama Administration reached the depths of uncivility that weve seen during these past 100 and some days. Host let me get your reaction to this exchange between cbs major garrett, covering the white house for cbs news, and the Principal Deputy spokesman, Sarah Huckabee sanders. Someone suggested in their tweet response or public announcement today that the president misconstrued one of the messages that should have been gathered from a shooting that involved Steve Scalise and others, that the hostility of the verbal environment can create an atmosphere of violence. Im not saying that, but members of congress have said that about particular tweet. I know that affected the president and those here personally keeply. Do you have any action to that sentiment that conversations like this create an atmosphere that is either dangerous or one we need to avoid . The president in no way, form, or fashion has ever promoted or encouraged violence. If anything, quite the contrary. And he was simply pushing back and defending himself. Host we wanted katherine to respond, but she hng up, so we apologize for that, but your thoughts . Guest i understand the desire i understand the desire of the press apparatus in the white house to defend the president and cast him in the best possible light. I think the evidence just speaks for itself. The president chooses language that attacks peoples character rather than the issues at hand. And thats a bad example for the country. Host robert puts it even more simpler, trump is a typical brash new yorker. Guest as a chicagoan, i couldnt agree more. Host jimmy republican line, spring hill, florida, good morning. Caller good morning, sir. Host go ahead, please. Caller im a u. S. Combat veteran. My entire family served in the military. Im theyre say that desperate times call for Desperate Measures. The reason we voted our president in is the behavior we see in the world today. Theres a total lack of morality we feel. Its evident with the way the protesters tear up towns, destroy property, and it seems to me that a lot of them are proabortion, and i feel that that is my most important voting reason, side from all the other things ive mentioned, is that no one is speak for the unborn lives and unborn souls that are destroyed. I believe that the president , who is behind saving these unborn lives, deserves my loyalty. And those of my wifes. Host jimmy, thank you follow call. Well get a response. Guest first of all, i think whats most important here is that you have every opportunity taken the chance to serve your country, both in the military and by going to the voting booth, which is the responsibility of every american. Desperate times and Desperate Measures is a powerful call. Preserving the constitution and its protections, that is the asis of our country. Host alabama, democrats line. Whats on your mind . Caller good morning. Thank you for taking my call. Youve been a religious person. I think you can answer this for me. Its been troubling me. What i see in President Trump is a vain person. Vain, the way the bible describes it, vain people are dangerous, because they react in unprecedented manners. Host thank you, danny. Well get a response. Guest danny, as a religious person, i would say the most important function of faith is the improvement of the believers soul. Im not going to make prescriptions about what mr. Trump needs to do or needs not to do. Judge not and you may not be judged. Host how are the rest of us supposed to preach civility among ourselves when the president of the United States clearly sets a horrible example himself . Guest i agree that the president has set a horrible example. But the bottom line is that the only behavior i control is my own. And the civility of behavior among americans has the power to overcome the example of any individual, even if that example ought to be more appropriate. Host our guest is rabbi jack moline f. Youre listening on cspan radio, were talking about civility in american politics. Milton next in philadelphia, democrats line. Caller good morning. Thank you for taking my call. Id like to make a couple of points about President Trump. One of the things that when the president wins, usually he makes an allout effort to reach across the aisle and reach out to his opponent and try to bring the country together. Since President Trump been in the white house, he has made no effort at all to reach out to the democrats, and he is constantly called names, make up lies about president obama, then he lies. He constantly lies about his plan. And every now and then he still taking shots at hillary clinton. I mean, he is setting the tone. I dont understand how people in this country continue to blast this president. He makes remarks about Mika Brzezinski on msnbc. He insults women. He insults john mccain. How much then republicans always say we need to come together as a country. But when president obama got elected, they did everything they could to undermine him. They even questioned president obamas birth. I mean, he tried to delent mize president obama in the worst kind of way. The people on the right just excuse oh, supreme court, as long as we give them tax cuts, we undo everything obama did, its ok. How can u a president that sets this tone . Look at how he talk about women. We try to set an example for young men and tpwhem our society. How you talk to people, i dont want no man talking to my daughter or wife or whatever the way he talks to women like that. And everybody keep excusing, and they make excuses for him. Thats my point. Thank you. Host thank you. Guest i would say if thats the way the gentleman feels, then he, like the rest of us, needs not to emulate what the president is doing. That is the best way to achieve civil dialogue, to model it yourself. If you break the pattern, the other person has to change his tactics. Host mary, republican line, good morning. Caller yes. Are you there . Host yes. Please go ahead. Caller ok. I changed my mind on what i wanted to say after what i just heard. At the problem is, the media is really bad. Theyre not telling what is really going on. And theyre not telling what mr. President trump has already done, and hes done so many good things, but the media dont cover it. All they ask is the stupid stuff and they report stupid stuff and keep the people stirred up. Theyre the ones causing all he problems. If the people that are democrats would watch their news, now, you should know that news people dont ever act like that. Thats a red flag. Theres something wrong. All the news people are democrats. I heard that fox is a little good. They report both sides, and thats what the media is supposed to do. Theyre supposed to be telling what he has already done. Even you just, a little while ago, reading out of the newspaper, about nikki haley, you are misleading people. It was never said, you guys get your news out of the washington post, and the other one, and its all lies. You report about news thats all lies. Host i got to jump in on that point. What i read was a piece from National Review, is nikki haley the alternative secretary of senate we put the information out there, and then give you a chance to respond. Were not making anything up. Thats whats being published or printed. Caller well, people are calling in and taking it that this is happening. Its not happening. Host what do you mean this is happening . Whats happening . Caller no, its not. It aint been said that shes going to be the person, ok . Host we didnt caller but still some people believe it. Host but we didnt say that. We read the essay that basically said, is she now the spokesperson for American Foreign policy . We never said Rex Tillerson was stepping down. We simply shared what National Review is saying, to get that information out there, and give you a chance to respond. I need to be very clear about that, because were not making anything up. Were not putting any fake news out there. Were reading whats in the washington post, the weekly standard, and give you a chance to decide what you think about it. Caller ok, what the democrats need to do, anybody against trump, what they need to do is go to the internet and look up what hes passed and what the people the people love him thats working with him. They think hes the greatest president ever. For what little bits i can catch, because i cant watch the news. I catch little bits on cspan, and i listen to what the people are saying, and they absolutely love him. They love working with him. They say hes the greatest ever. I mean, this world is going to come together. Im already praying for him to be president the next four years, but you democrats dont know whats going on because they wont listen to him. They wont look what is your profession hes already done and what the people are saying about him that hes worked with. And the people that work with him absolutely love him. Host thank you. Well get a response. Guest whether or not i agree with your perspective, i appreciate your taking the time to keep yourself informed and looking for unfiltered sources of information. Host our last call is from new york, republican line. Steven, good morning. Caller good morning. I have a few comments. One is on trump policies that we need to pull together and actually hold him, actually hold his policies more accountable and work with them to actual al chief actually a better country. When barack was in, people talking about baracks thing was about raising taxes, which he couldnt do, because the way the economy was, because hes let the economy go, we wouldnt have an army or anything else to run this country, and same thing goes with trumps record. A lot of the things trump wants to do he cannot do because it would troy america, not make America Great again, which is what his campaign was about. We need to work with our senators and effectively work on making America Great again. I think thats where the real the debate has gotten lost. Host thanks for the call. Host thanks for the call. Is the told her rhetoric different from the past . Guest it is different because we are living through it. When we look back, we have a tendency to alter what we want to learn about. I think the quality of discourse in the political arena now is a lower level than it has been, certainly in my lifetime. There have been controversies about individuals, about president s and other people in politics. I dont think they have consumed the nation the way incivil behavior has consumed us. I hope is every american will take individual responsibility and do their best to reduce the attacks we have seen over the last cycle and administration. Jack moline is the president s of the interfaith alliance. People can follow him on twitter. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up monday morning, the Economic Policy institutes david cooper discuss the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage. And kevin johnson, Justice Department reporter for usa today, reports on the lack of security personnel at federal maximumsecurity prison. Prisons. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal, live 7 00 eastern monday morning. Join the discussion. Cspan juarez history unfolds daily cspan where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a public cable service. Now a conversation with documentary film maker alexandra pelosi. This is 35 minutes
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