♪ host: good morning. it is friday, may 24, 2024.

the house and the senate will meet for pro forma sessions to date and votes will not take place until after memorial day. we begin in the wake of yesterday's hearing with the leaders of rutgers university, ucla, northwestern. it was the third congressional hearing for college presidents since campus protests corrupted early this spring. this morning we are asking if the wave of protests has changed your view of higher education. if they have, the number to call is (202) 748-8000. if they have not, (202) 748-8001 special line for college students and administrators, (202) 748-8002. and you can send us a text. (202) 748-8003 is that number. catch up with us on social media on x @cspanwj and on facebook.com/c-span.

start calling in. headlines from the hearing yesterday on capitol hill for the education and workforce committee in the house. this is the chronicle headline. another hearing aimed at higher ed, college presidents fight back. in this headline from fox news. elise stefanik spars with the head of top school overfilling grates on anti-semitism. a stunning whistleblower claims that the head of the school, here is that exchange from yesterday. >> the adl released its report card for the universities response to anti-semitism and you are aware that northwestern university is the only university whose grade was downgraded. >> i am aware of that. >> is it true northwestern earned an aft? -- earned an f. >> i have great respect for the

adl. >> is it a fact that you earned an f and they called for your resignation. >> i have great respect for the adl. >> it is true you got an f. let me tell you why. i want to hear about your unilateral capitulation to the pro-hamas, anti-israel, anti-semitic encampments. let's talk about what has occurred on this encampment. isn't it true that a jewish northwestern student was assaulted? >> i want to question the premise of your question. i am asked -- >> i am asking the questions, you are answering. you are required to answer. >> isn't it true that a jewish northwestern student was assaulted? >> your allegation that a jewish student was assaulted, we are

investigating those allocations. >> isn't it true that a jewish student was harassed and stopped to hillel. >> there are allegations and we are investing them. >> isn't it true that a jewish student wearing a yarmulke was spat on? >> how long are these -- all of these are incidents that are being investigated. >> how long are these investigations going to take? >> we believe investigations. >> when will the investigations be finalized? >> they will be finalized when the conduct office and the title vi office, which are well on this issue -- >> this is why you ever earned an f. host: just one of the exchanges with the heads of three universities. "the new york times university leaders say a complex summer

many officials may be confronting federal investigations, disputes over student discipline, and the prospects the protest will start all over in the fall. in the wake of the protests and the third congressional hearings with the president of universities from around the country we are asking you if these campus protests have impacted your view of higher education. if you say yes, (202) 748-8000. if you say no, (202) 748-8001. the line for students and administrators, (202) 748-8002. already loong for your comments from social media. craig onacebook saying "absolutely. the rise of anti-semitism on college campuses is shopping. i recall the protests during the vietnam war but that was a different matter. something is dangerously wrong in academia with collagen

ministries tolerating such behavior." jason on facebook says "they have reinforced the notion that college are indoctrination factories and not institutions of higher education." we especially want to hear with you on the phone lines. shannon calls in from south portland, maine on the line for students. good morning. caller:. my name is shannon and i'm currently at the university of southern maine. these college protests have affected me. they motivated me to stay in college longer because they are out there doing the good work. out there fighting the cops and counter protesters throwing things at them. it is a shame we do not have anything up here in maine. we have something with bowdoin college and it is nice to see there is support.

i would be in new york if i could. i do not have the financial resources to get down there. it is insane to see the administrators so far removed from these students that they are willing to be embattled with people paying their salaries. we are just sitting here in awe waiting for something to happen and we have the president not listening to anybody but people listen to benjamin netanyahu as soon as he gives a phone call. it is insanity. host: when you hear someone write on this question that these protests have reinforced the notion that colleges are indoctrination factories, what do you say to that? caller: indoctrination of education and learning how to become a lawyer or educator? if you are afraid to educate

yourself on a topic in face the things you are scared to face you should not be in college to begin with. host: when you said at the beginning this is motivating you to stay in college longer, what does that mean? are you going back for a graduate degree? are you graduating this year? caller: i've been messing around and i forgot what i had. i am a veteran so i get tuition assistance and i've been in and out of focus. if these kids are sitting here paying top dollars for education i will have to sit my butt in class and get this done. caller: host: where did you serve? caller: marine corps in pensacola. host: what did you study? caller: media studies but i'm change my degree to teaching. host: what you want to teach? caller: history. host: why do you want to teach

history? caller: you see these things happen and happen and happen over and over again. you try to put it in current context and people put into context that does not make sense. they will say the founding fathers were about freedom and democracy but they had slaves. these contradictions that keep appearing within our history. we keep seeing the same things happen over and over again and do not do anything about it. people say things are wrong. then you get the people in power being like everything is fine. you may be suffering but part of that suffering is the way life is. host: what are today's contradictions? caller: israel, they keep saying it is a war but it is such a lopsided genocide that we have

people -- we have aid workers saying we are getting shot out by the idf, we have bombs, where are the hamas jets, the bombs? all i see is the idf carpet bombing apartment buildings. all i see is people getting shot at the border. when they started to get up and get motivated people get upset and they tried to shut them down and then when they get shut down we start to see benjamin netanyahu get all kinds of press. he is everywhere. they just invited him to congress. they invited someone who has warrants on him to congress. our congress. and then we have that marjorie taylor greene who spits venom at everybody and anybody they want. then when aoc pipes up a little

bit they shut her down. i'm not even in aoc fan. is insanity. host: when you say you want to teach, what age group you want to teach? caller: high schoolers. preferably seniors to give them the boost before they go out into the real world. host: thank you for calling in from maine. maryland. good morning. caller: i am glad you had the whole conversation with the last caller. i hope you have one with me as well. every time i call it you cut me off before i can say something. here is the thing. you cannot say anything about benjamin netanyahu or israel or your being anti-semitic. thank god for those college students.

fox news has done everything possible to shield snowflake republicans from the reality of life in palestine or in gaza for years. you cannot have 2 million people who cannot define them, they are not citizens of any country, they are just there displaced and you keep bringing up we cannot have this terrorism. what do they do? just kill them all off? host: bring me to the college campus protests in your views on higher education? caller: thank you for those students. the students are finally awakening the conscious of the country. for months it was like nothing was going on in israel.

fox news was telling us it was just about the 1200 killed in israel and they have the right to wipe out -- it is bad -- right now a lot more people are paying attention. if anybody listens to bernie sanders yesterday in the senate? i am pretty sure republicans cannot counter anything he said. bernie sanders is the conscience of america right now. cannot claim to be the world leader, we cannot claim vladimir putin is doing anything wrong if we cannot stand up to benjamin netanyahu. the same man came to this country when barack obama was president and insulted our president. now he is invited to do the same thing. when will republicans stop bringing -- i do not understand

this politics. host: that is roland in maryland. this is bobby in st. paul, minnesota. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i realize that in this country we should be able to protests, but peacefully protest. you do not block bridges like the golden gate. you do not block the brooklyn bridge. you did not layover railroad tracks. you do not go into a building. protests, the latest ones dealing with israel, have gotten to the point where it is obvious they crossed the line. if you will protest, what part of no don't you understand? when you peacefully protest it is yes. if you do not come and you occupy an area that you should not beyond or you take over a building that is no.

i am 78 years old. one thing i have learned is right and wrong. what is going on right now, you do not take over buildings. you do it in an area they ask you to be on. then you get -- like in ucla where they put the plywood all around -- i think it was seattle when they took over downtown. host: in ucla, that incident when the counter protesters ended up coming to the protests at ucla, violence erupting and police not getting involved for

several hours, that was a big moment in yesterday's house hearing. it was congresswoman ill hanno mark who brought that up -- ilhan omar who brought that up. how do you feel about her? caller: is obviously anti-semitic. there is no question about it. remember before all this broke out she had made comments that jews are people -- that jews are evil and nancy pelosi had no backbone at that time to reprimand her by name. nancy pelosi came out with a word salad that we all get together and we should not have this and we should not have that. baloney.

omar's daughter got arrested in the columbia college demonstrations. that is what i think of her. host: finisher comment and then i will show viewers the moment from yesterday. finish what you had to say and i also -- and that i will show viewers that moment from yesterday. caller: sheet will get reelected because her constituency will reelect her every two years. it is a joke. the only other thing i want to say quickly is why did they keep quoting aoc all the time? he has a 14-year-old mind in a woman's body. host: that is bobby in st. paul. one correction on him talking about omar's daughter, she was

among several students at barnard college arrested for protesting in a pro-palestinian encampment at columbia university. that protest at columbia trolling students from various colleges around the country. here is that moment yesterday. >> why did you not immediately send the police that were standing by -- your campus police, law enforcement -- to intervene? >> we tried. we notified all of our mutual aid partners and try to get police there as quickly as possible. going back to my original point, the encampment was against policies. >> if i may, the footage from that night reveals that some of the most dramatic attacks were carried out by individuals not

affiliated with ucla. not the university students, faculty that were arrested. why have the violent agitators who you know have been identified not been held accountable for assaulting over 150 of your students? you should be ashamed. the fact that you failed your students. you should be ashamed for letting a peaceful protest gathering get hijacked by an angry mob. you should be ashamed for allowing such violence to take place on your campus, which will now be weaponized by republicans in this committee. you played right into the hands in laying the ground for attacking institutions of public education, stripping students of their rights, and broader repression of movement. host: congresswoman ilhan omar

there and the ucla chairman. we are asking you if the campus protests have impacted your view of higher education. phone lines if you say yes, no comment a special phone line for students that administrators at colleges and universities. also looking tough social media posts. also looking for one from bill in vermont. i am 65 and recently retired. this from diane who says it has not changed my view of higher education. the hammering ocoeges and university professionals by certain members of core has sealed my view of what i think of congress. that is the viewpoint of a former university professor. this is roland calling in from detroit. good morning. caller: the protests have

changed my view of higher education in that i think one of the messages knowingly or unknowingly the students are sending is these higher educational institutions are antiquated edifices that do not have human being in their best interest. these colleges and campuses, they should have been closed a long time ago. they do not do anything but corral students. it is like a slave camp. host: you think close all colleges and universities? caller: pretty much. maybe not all of them but the big ones are making money and

they are keeping higher administrators employed. how many associate deans do we need? there is a dean and associate dean. i applaud the students for speaking up. this mass murder that is happening in palestine and the congo and haiti and other places is not good. young know what is going on and they know there is a future that they have to try to face and they are trying to stop what they see. i applaud them. host: when you talk about the cost of higher education, the pew research service posting the results of a poll that up in the

wake of this conversation talking about this pull. the public has mixed views on the importance of having a college degree and many have doubts about whether the cost is worth it. many adults say whether it is important to have a college degree. some say it is less important to have a four year college degree and only -- say the cost of a college degree is worth it. that pull is available from pew research. this is terran in florida. good morning. caller: i am shocked at the students. i cannot believe how dumb they are. it is shocking to me -- if they

knew anything about the history it does not belong to the palestinians. it is outrageous. meet the students are willingly believing a lie. israel was the one that was attacked and these are terrorist groups and they need to get them out. somebody needs to make a place. little tiny israel. we have 22 countries surrounding them and the students have jumped on the bandwagon and they think for hamas to go in and murder and kidnapping people and do horrible things -- host: do youhi students are different from students in the past in terms of what they're willing to believe or protest for? caller: i think there is something wrong. i'm trying to think of my own chil my one granddaughter did the

on the rise in the fall of the third reich. she had that in her high school but does both my other children i do not think it was taught to them and they do not seem to understand and see what happened. to me they are willingly believing a lie. they are not talking about killing innocent palestinians. the israeli army is so careful. they probably had a greater loss of life in their military because they are so careful not to hurt civilians. you have palestinians that went with israel and they lived there. you have this other group, i think they were led around by yasser arafat many years ago and he tried to take over a couple of countries until he went in there and claimed it was their country. it is not their country never has been. host: this is david in texas.

you are next. caller: the recent activity has not changed my mind about the schools. it has only confirmed what i have been thinking about for years. i have been studying marxism, socialism, communism four years. another book on marx which is focused on understanding marx in the 19th century without understating considerations. to understand what was going on then you have to look at what was happening. it is the opposite of the present situation where people are making evaluations like the young man from maine. they key is exactly what is wrong with the schools. he talked about how he had lost focus, was not focused on

schooling, which i would say it is easy to understand where his thought process came from. he does not have a knowledge of american history, he has an impression. you look back at the study of marxism and when this happened. empirical research versus empirical search and scientific study. he is of the mindset of what marx was experiencing prior to darwin when they experienced research based on their experience. someone would walk outside and look at the sun in the morning and the evening and come to the conclusion that the sun is going around the earth. marx and darwin had a lot going on. the scientific method came about. we cannot just rely on what our sensors are showing. this young man has no concept of american history. host: where does your

fascination with marxism come from? caller: a lot of different places. it is also a fascination with economics. you have a million people call on your show and they say everybody knows inflation happens when you have too much money chasing after too few goods. that is true but it is not true. if that were so, why since 2008 when the money supply has gone up unbelievably, not just with the fed but all of the national banks around the world -- host: before we get into an inflation discussion is this something you've always been interested in? caller: no. i am interested in history, world history. i am interested in a lot of things. they are all tied together. if you do not understand

economics you cannot understand history. economics is a philosophy. look at all of the different economists and how they disagree. the democrats use what is called keynesian and modern monetary theory, which is a take off of what milton friedman proved to be the case in the 1980's when paula voelker came along and finally halted inflation. milton friedman had been arguing that the way he approached control of inflation was one thing -- manage the m2 money flows. host: will leave it there because i have a lot more callers. if you're interested in milton friedman's 10 part series "free to choose" produced with public television is something we aired on c-span's american history tv. you can find in our archives and watch all 10 episodes of "free to choose" at c-span.org.

back to the discussions about campus protest and how it impacted your views of higher education. that is our conversation in the first hour of "washington journal." jane has been waiting in the hoosier state. good morning. are you with us? then we will go to walter in new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. people have to understand that everybody that is against policy moves and things of war israel has done are not anti-semitic. some of these people -- you have to differentiate antisemitism from anti-zionism. they are totally different things. host: do you think students

understand that? do you think members of congress understand that amid these hearings? do you think people are able to parse that amid these protests that have been happening? caller: not at the point we are here in america because we are only hearing one side. the american congress, senate, and congress are bought and paid for by apec. host: in new jersey. -- walter in new jersey. this is memphis, tennessee. your thoughts on the campus protest. caller: my thoughts on the campus protests is they are exercising their first amendment rights, and as far as it being on a college campus of higher

education, i believe it is because of higher education that these students are exercising their first amendment rights. now they are at the age where they understand this american experience in democracy. when something that goes against what they have been taught throughout their high school years and into college is not necessarily the democracy they were being taught than they have a right to protest. this has been going on -- college students have been protesting this experiment in american democracy since i have been born. to me it is nothing new. it is an ongoing experiment. because of the first amendment rights we are able to protest civily. civil disobedience.

it does not change my view. it does not change my view of higher education. if more americans were educated as to how the world affects the world around them -- the world outside this country affects them, they would also be informed about it and be aware. they would also have something to say. i do not think but these kids are doing has changed my view of higher education. i think higher education is needed so people are able to better understand. caller: -- host: has it changed your view about college campus leadership and presidents and chancellors and how they view these young adults on their campus? caller: what has been shown to me, the difference about the president or the chancellors or

the ones in leadership, what i have come to understand is it is the difference between public and private. most private schools, they are funded by outside sources. they do not receive any federal funds. these public institutions that receive taxpayer funding, i believe they have been more boisterous. the chancellors or the president -- it is a political view because congress has been calling them to testify as to why they are not in more control of the kids on the campuses. going back to when i was coming up, especially during the vietnam, the chancellors, that was over their heads. the chancellors and the president knew the children were exercising their constitutional

rights. violence is a different thing. i believe most of the violence is because of outside agitators coming in or anti-protesters. that is a thin line. that is a gray area. i do not hold college presidents or chancellors to blame for what the students are doing. host: talk about the politics of this. it congress woman from washington yesterday at that hearing saying the have become politicized. here is about a minute from yesterday. >> free speech and the right to protest are foundational to our democracy and upholding these rights without allowing them to be twisted into weapons of hate is no easy task. nowhere is it more difficult that on college campuses, places that help students to think and

engage and broaden their mindsets and express their ideas without violence or intimidation. antisemitism, islamophobia, anti-aapi hate, lgbtq hate, all forms of hatred have no place in our society, including on college campuses. the history of protest on college campuses is mirrored in today's history as college administrators protecting all of your students and allowing your campuses to remain as communities of free debate is your responsibility. instead of using these hearings for political bullying purposes, which is what the majority seems to do. if you want to be embarrassed about something be embarrassed about the fact that this majority has not been able to govern in this cycle without being saved by democrats. i am interested in hearing and

learning about what successful negotiation and de-escalation looks like in the context of protecting students and free speech. host: that was representative jayapal yesterday at a house hearing. the chairwoman of the committee virginia foxx defended the hearing. here is what she had to say. >> those in charge of universities who negotiate with pro-terror protesters are not doing their jobs. taxpayer dollars have no business funding universities without principles that align with the principles of rape. each of you refuse to enforce your own rules, preserve campus safety, and protect jewish students. i want to make one thing clear. the purpose of these hearings is not to enact right-wing cancel culture as purported by the left. the purpose is to end anti-semitic violence and

harassment on campus. full stop. hearings with college presidents are meant to guide postsecondary education policy going forward that meets the needs and respects the rights of all students. we will certainly keep your answers to our questions in mind as the committee conducts further business. host: education workforce committee chairwoman virginia foxx yesterday. we are asking you in the wake of those hearings yesterday, have campus protests impacted your view of higher education? if you say yes (202) 748-8000, if you say no (202) 748-8001. the line for students and professors, (202) 748-8002. also looking for social media s. this is james writing that his answer is no. "protests and demonstrations on

college campuses are as old and legendary as our tailgating parties. anyone old enough to remember vietnam, state, civil rights, and women's rights protests know what i am talking about. trying to keep the kids from protesting injustice is like try to keep water from running downhill." host: paul in connecticut, you are next. caller: i was getting two streams. host: just talk through your phone. caller: has a 16-year-old dropout i went to party at the university of connecticut and i said to my buddy someday i will make it back here. i did. it took me years and i graduated with a political science degree in 2001. it has not changed. the administrators still pander to certain groups. a lot of this is because they

pandered to the special interests of alumni. the staff is bloated. the difference between private and public was made by one of your callers. i mentioned to a local station on a talk show, why don't you have someone on from university of connecticut? that is not in the area of the university of connecticut. every excuse in the book for not providing a platform for both sides. that is what i struggled for. i tagged along with some jewish fellow students of mine when we went through the pavilion for the huskies were playing.

we went through there and held up signs to make the point that we have public rights in a public space and we shall not be interfered with in the psychological environment. if you happen to float something like the book "hitler's pope" is discredited and infamous and students were carrying it around expecting everyone to agree with the assertions of attacking a religious leader during world war ii. these things are alive and well. nothing has changed. administrators will play politics. this is public space. all citizens have a right to use public space, whether it is inside the college or not. as far as infiltrators, maybe we should sign a guestbook and determine who the provocateurs

are and who is causing the trouble. it is certainly not the peaceful protesters. host: this is chris in california. good morning. caller: good morning and thank you for taking my call and thank you for c-span. the influence of the protests at universities, specifically in the united states has influenced my view. i was more of favor to views like mike johnson, speaker of the house, spoke that israel is god's country, like the promised land, which gets into the zionism that i think the president, during the memorial day in israel, said. all we wanted was a nation for ourselves where we could worship god in our own jewish manner, pretty much.

my view changed from being more of universities having this more liberal aspect to it and being democrat run and being more accepting of that. the ideological viewpoint put forward by mike johnson conflicts with what i knew as a servicemember in the army. the services of the armed forces for the united states should not be used for ideological purposes. the support -- the other aspect that has changed my view is protests have been financed by marxist driven supporters of resistance movements from cuba -- 300 americans were activists there in cuba.

the one in new york on october 7 was incited by such activists. with the south africa request of the national criminal court to prosecute against benjamin netanyahu, i am not supportive of hamas as a terrorist organization. i think it is atrocious that the human shield has been reduced by tens of thousands of women and children, both known and unknown. there is a devastating characteristic to this matter. i am losing my train of thought. i am sorry. my view has strange -- my view has changed for the students opposition to u.s. manufactured bombs that have been so devastating. they were not smart bombs. i am not familiar with the weaponry of the united states

for urban warfare but i heard a representative, i think from maryland state that these bombs should never have been used in an urban warfare environment. looking at google imagery of gaza these homes are like yards. it looks like it could have taken 300 miles of tunnels and dirt and piled these things up around these houses. they are in close proximity to each other. it is not like san francisco where it is wall-to-wall concrete for so many miles. it still does not make sense to have a 50 foot crater with a 35 foot diameter dropped on an urban environment to destroy a tunnel. caller: thanks for taking my

call. my views have not changed over the years. the schools are indoctrinating our kids for a long time now. the way they are protesting, it is showing what is going on. a lot of the students, i just do not undershem. do they just hate jewish people? are they just people and that is just the way they a some of them don'tnow better? they do not know what they are protesting. i will make this comment. i don't care who you are on this earth. if you are white, if you are black, if you are asian whatever your religious preferences. nobody on this earth deserves to have their doors kicked in and your wife raped in front of you and set your children on fe.

nobody deserves that. i don't understand the mindset. they are being indoctrinated. host: you say schools have been indoctrinating kids for a long time. when you think that started? caller: i graduated high school in 1982. when i went to school i did not see or if there was to teach the kids, to think for yourself. today it does not seem to be that way. we have these protests. why is that our government doing anything? i don't understand.

host: about 10 minutes left in this segment, asking if these campus protests have impacted your view of higher education. charlotte in california. what you think? caller: i think the world needs to stop and read. back in 1972 i had a little club on the campus of cal state and we were shut down because we were learning the truth about the middle east and what happened. we did not go from now to october 7. we learned before 1948. this woman that called in from florida is typical of a jewish woman that has zionist views. host: i'm not sure any of our callers have identified their religion. what was your club about when they started at cal state? caller: the cultural club of eric people. another word that has been you -- of arab people.

another word that has been used is anti-semitic. most arab tribes are semites. all of my friends are jewish that are against what is going on now. i am so proud of the students. these protests started out very quiet, no problems. their instigators out there that have science holding -- they know the occupation is wrong. i own a bible that is almost 2500 years old and the israel state they show on the map also is palestine. in 1948, if you look this up, when the palestinians took in the people after what happened with hitler's, they brought them to their country. today religious rabbis say we

should be thanking the palestinian people for what they have done. it is a disgrace that the settlers are allowed to murder, they are given guns. i feel like benjamin netanyahu is a war criminal, absolutely. in 1948 they had what is today considered a terrorist organization but they were called freedom fighters. why were they called freedom fighters and what is happening with hamas? there would be no hamas of israel was not so greedy and stole the palestinian land. host: houston, texas. you are next. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am calling on the yes line that it might -- that my views have changed about higher education.

i have a bachelors in science of mechanical engineering from a major university in louisiana. i grew up in a time of change of civil rights and immigration and of course the vietnam war. the thing i've noticed about all of this and the discussions -- the form of freedom of speech -- i guarantee you it was not

allowed in my high school or college i went to. i worked as a drilling engineer for 37 years. it was not allowed at the company i worked for. i went to work for an oil company i had to agree to their roles. part of it was i did not have the right to publish a paper without their permission. host: yesterday, this from today's new york times, hundreds of students walked out of harvard university's commencement ceremony as degrees were being conferred and as they were doing it they were chanting let them walk, reference to 13 student protesters not allowed to graduate from harvard after a vote earlier this week by the harvard corporation, that is the university's governing board.

13 students did not get their diplomas. hundreds walk out of the commencement ceremonies. this sounds like you are fine with those 13 students not getting their diplomas after what they did on harvard's campus. caller: i expect they will get their diplomas, they will just not be allowed to attend the graduation ceremony there. the thing about it is our freedom of speech has rules for how it is to be employed. we cannot disrupt our company we work for. we cannot i have spent some time observing in court. you certainly have restricted speed freedoms of speech when you are part of a jury or are

just in the gallery watching. also, just in the public space, anywhere i go, to the grocery store to get my vehicle repaired at the shop, no matter where i go by freedom of speech is governed by a social contract with the people around me and that is my rights end where there is begin. there is a certain agreement. a social contract that we attack one another and then say that is not right through freedom of speech. we do not have a right to attack each other and say i have a right to freedom of speech. host: more background on what is happening with the 13 students on harvard. on monday harvard's faculty

announced it had restored the 13 students to the list of students eligible to graduate and on wednesday the harvard corporation governing board, the corporation overruled the faculty and once again barred the students from graduating. 13 students can appeal that decision and requested they be returned to the good standing of the school and the corporation said if they were returned the university would confirm degrees on them. not receiving degrees yesterday. this is rose in illinois on the line for student administrators and faculty. which of the three are you? caller: i am the second one, it has not changed anything. it will not change until people change. i was watching mass on tv from st. patrick's cathedral and cardinal dolan said the main

problem is there are wars all over our globe. he says you have to clean up the war inside of you first before you clean anything else up. these kids are protesting because they are protesting their lives themselves. the only way they can get their anxiety out is by protesting and opening up their mounts because god is not in their heart. until the world decides to put god first we will keep going on with this mass we have. host: you are an administrator? caller: what is going on to poor mr. trump is disgusting. what this poor man is going through. he will prevail and he will be our president and i will pray for these children that are going to college. when you go to be an accountant, and i work for accounts for 14

years, i talked to some of the kids went to college to be accountants. the first two years you learn everything about accounting. the third and fourth year you can play around and get an elective. you do not learn anything. that is the way our colleges are running. i learned this in 1984 when i worked in an accounting firm in chicago. host: that is rose in illinois. alan, a professor of public policy at the university of virginia with a column today in the washington times. his message to university administrators in the wake of everything that has been happening. he says university struggle with the challenge of balancing competing demands. from the right of call for a restoration of free speech and from the rest -- from the left and insistence on progressive social justice reforms. the resolution of this impasse lies in restoring a sense of

balance and recent university governance. university presidents must reclaim their roles as impartial administrators rather than as advocates for progressive causes , returning to supporting their core missing of teaching and research. university boards must attack back to the center, returning universities to a path that respects free expression and the pursuit of knowledge without yielding to ideological extremism. that column in today's washington times. time for one or two more phone calls. tonya in virginia. good morning. host: good work -- caller: good morning. i am for the higher education. the protests should be shut down in my opinion. the protests, it seems to me people are associating the protests in the 60's with the protests going on now with the

college kids and all of that. they did take place on the college campuses in the 60's and they had taken to the streets. the protests nowadays are international. it is starting off as innocent college kids but it will get larger. i say they shut it down right now. with a lot of the things going on now, it a red dragon in the midst just waiting for things to get out of hand. shut it down right now. that is my opinion. thank you. host: that is tonya in virginia. our last color in this first segment of "washington journal." coming up, we will be joined by former republican congressman

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you to where the policy is debated and decided with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: with more than 250 appearances in the c-span video library, former pennsylvania recover -- pennsylvania recovery -- republican is working with a new group called our republican legacy. what is it? guest: thank you for having me on the program. it is a group of for the moment former republican officials and many others who are joining. we are really about trying to reset the republican party. we believe that there are many dispirited republicans around the country who want something better for the party. we organize around five key principles that we believe are

enduring that have sustained the republican party for demo -- for generations. and i will just briefly mention what they are. we talk about the constitution, the union, fiscal responsibility and free markets. that is essential to what we are about. also peace through strength, our fifth point. i can get through each of these a little bit. we want to restore this party to what it had been. we are not naive. we know the party will change going forward, but we have these enduring principles that have guided us for 170 years and we need to promote a counter narrative an argument to the maga movement. i have heard from many republicans who are voting for donald trump right now who want something better, but they are not hearing an alternative. it is clear to us that somewhere around when he percent of republicans want something

different. they are voting for nikki haley who has not been a candidate for many weeks. what we think is that if we provide this alternative and this argument that we could start building a movement. part of that movement will include we want to speak to trump voters who might vote for donald trump because they dislike joe biden so much and we want to show them that there is a better way. we want to grow this movement. we know the party is divided and it is not evenly divided. the maga movement is more dominant, we get it. at the same time we want to do better. we talk about the constitution and we believe in an orderly transfer of power. after you've had dozens of lawsuit validating an election it is time to concede and be part of the peaceful transfer of power. we believe in this notion from the constitution and 70 ma --

some in the maga movement do not. abraham lincoln obviously served a very challenging and difficult time when the nation was enormously divided. we are about keeping the country together. our political adversaries are not our enemies but they just have differences of opinion and we have to do what we can to keep the extremes from further does not -- inviting the country. we talk about open markets. and free enterprise. many of us join for a variety of reasons and one of them is that we believe in a free economy. we believe that the types of tariffs being exposed -- imposed are extreme. these people are pushing that we protect the very few and privileged few at the expense of the many and other types of extreme governmental intervention and price controls. we are not for that. most people in our party have not been for that for a long time. peace through strength, we

believe it is an important -- it is important for the republican party to push back against aggressive autocrats like vladimir putin and stand up and embrace our allies. and particularly as we can advance america's interest through these alliances and partnerships. we have a problem with this nativist and populist movement in went -- in many ways that i think will weaken america and certainly the public -- the republican party. we are trying to tell them there is a better place to go. and we can do it. host: some big names getting involved including senators john danforth, william cowan, alan simpson. launching it via an op-ed between trump and biden what should republicans do? some other names getting

involved, john boehner, dan quayle, michael steele of maryland. what do you say to folks who say that this is never trump republicans by another name? guest: look, i would say maybe some of these folks are not trump. if you ask every person how they are voting in the election we are not a pack, -- pac, and not advocating in an election. we are thinking of amusement -- of a movement yonder 2024. most people are dispirited with the direction of the party and some might vote for donald trump and some might vote for joe biden and some might sit it out. i do not want to get into how everyone will vote. we are about creating a movement where we want a better republican party that can endure. the more traditional view of the party has been around through

170 years through linkedin, to roosevelt to eisenhower, nixon, ford, reagan and the bushes. they all want something better. and we do not think that these maga root are rather shallow and our roots are deep. host: is a better republican party without donald trump becoming president in january 2025? guest: look. i am not going to be supporting donald trump and i did not support him in 2016. i will not speak for every member about how they will vote. i will say that any of us know that donald trump represents a real threat to this country going forward. he told us what he would do, dictator for a day and threatens to pull out of nato. he talks about imposing extraordinary. -- tariffs that are punitive and disruptive to the economy. so nobody -- so in my view, that

is not a good direction and many of us feel that just as i do. host: talk to the folks that you want to appeal to, the folks that continue to support nikki haley even though she is no longer running for president. what did you think of nikki haley endorsing donald trump ? guest: i was not surprised. it was kind of tepid. she wants a future as an elected official in the republican party and that is why she did what she did. having said that, a lot of the people voting for her are not going to be supporting donald trump in the fall. again, people want something different. she had a lot of people backing her because it was a protest vote. so we are talking to those folks and frankly many people who are voting for trump, holding their nose and doing so, they want something better.

nikki haley did what she did because she is trying to protect herself for a future run so i will not judge her. but she was also quite critical of trump and biden. host: can you talk about the difference between the more traditional republican party that you are trying to reestablish and the term maga republican. just take this congress, what percentage of republicans fall in either category, the more traditional and the maga? guest: that is hard to say. i served a lot of good and honorable people in congress, many fine members. some have been pushed into the maga camp somewhat reluctantly. we have seen this play out. take the vote on ukraine. everybody talks about there were more republicans who voted against ukraine and ford. there are a lot more republicans who support it but did not vote

for it out of fear of a maga or trump push back. there are many of them who want to come back to something more traditional and more conventional so, i think they need some people on the outside trying to create a space for them so they can find their voices once more. so, i think the number of people who embrace the values and principles that i laid out, i think there is a strong majority of republicans in congress to support them. the challenge is that the pressure is so great in maga, particularly in the primaries that they kind of hue to that wing of the party to survive a primary. i do not think they want to do that but they want to get something much more traditional that they frankly believe in for most of their lives. host: former congressman charlie

dent is our guest in this segment of the washington journal. with us for the next half hour, the senior advisor with that group our republican legacy. you can join the conversation with the democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. i want to start on the republican line. anna, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning, john. mr. dent, the problem i am seeing is everybody calling republicans that support donald trump referred to as maga. that is so disparaging. i am a republican and have always been a republican. i registered at 18 and have always voted republican. i have just seen our party kind

of caving to the democratic party's bills and ideas and we have gotten just so far away from our country. we do not support our country anymore. we are supporting the globe and not taking care of americans. and that is why we support donald trump, because he will make sure that we as americans are safe. and that we are prosperous. and we have got to take care of this country. that is all i have to say. thank you. guest: the only thing i would say in response is the term maga is to describe the movement. donald trump is the leader of the maga movement. i do not mean to suggest that all people voting for donald trump consider themselves maga, and many people are voting for him because they do not prefer

the democrats, but not everything that the maga movement represents. i think that is the case. in terms of making the country stronger, i understand the caller's frustration but i respectfully disagree on one point. we have a system that requires consensus. this is a democracy with a separation of powers. we have a democratic president and majority senate and a republican majority house. whether people like it or not in order to pass laws you need republicans in the house and democrat in the senate and a democratic president to sign the bill into law. some people consider that surrender and others call that governing. you have to deal with it. i will say, always giving into the democratic demands, i do not buy that. look at the recent legislation

with respect to the border. james lankford negotiated a pretty good deal with senator chris murphy, of connecticut. he negotiated a good deal and got a lot of right of center policy victories and a lot of resources are being sent down to the border to deal with the crisis. people call that surrender but i can assure you that if donald trump is present next year and republicans control one or both chambers they will not get as good a deal as they would have had most recently. you can call that surrender her progress. i will call that progress because he will get some of what you wanted on resources that they desperately need at border control to control the massive influx of people who should not be coming into the country the way they are. that is a frustration i have when i say democrats are moving on but you have to negotiate

with these folks just as you have to negotiate with our team. host: you are starting this organization to help bring the republican party back. what do you make of donald trump going to the south bronx yesterday, a place where republicans have not usually gone to try and find votes and drawing a crowd of thousands, his campaign estimated 25,000 people who showed up in what political singles always see as a deeply blue district? guest: i think that is good politics for republicans broadly speaking to engage with communities that have been historically not been as supportive of us. republicans have to show up. so i think it is smart to speak to these constituencies, african-american, hispanics or others who have underperformed relative to democrats. you can see that certainly

hispanics are moving towards the republican party. many of them are. some african-americans are starting to move in the republican direction. the margins are going to decline among particularly hispanic and black voters. that said, all republican candidates should be doing outreach into these communities particularly minority communities where the party has struggled. i would say that is the right thing to do. host: dominic in ohio. good morning. caller: hello. host: go ahead. caller: ok. i just question charlie dent's motives. he is selling a book and making money off of the spinoff. guest: i am not selling a book. where did that come from? caller: it said so on the screen under your name and the picture about a book. anyway, are you sure you are

really aware of that bill that congress did not support? the main reason was 5000 allowed per day to enter? what about just one? whatever happened to the balls of america? that is have -- that is why we supported donald trump. i do not think a majority of trump supporters are not for him but it is about making america grade again. where are you at? host: your id, charlie dent republican legacy are senior advisor and then your time in congress. i am not sure where got the book. guest: the caller is frustrated about the border. i was one of the original cosponsors of the secure fence act that allowed for the 700 miles of nuclear and pedestrian

barriers -- vehicular and pedestrian barriers and that is the base of the so-called wall. i support it. and we did it on a bipartisan basis and brought people along. what happened has evolved over the years with it would deal with the problem -- the biden administration has been awol too long on this issue. and they should not have gotten rid of the remain in mexico policy because most of the people are economic migrants who are not eligible for asylum.

i would respectfully disagree that there were significant policy victories. you should pocket those victories and that is not to say you should not try to do more. you should take what you should -- what you can get. right now, nothing has improved. so the caller is upset about that 5000 number, i think that has been misrepresented. the point is they are trying to limit the number of people. they are not trying to bring in more people. i think that is why the caller might be a little bit misguided in his analysis. host: gabriel on the line for independents. durham, north carolina. caller: good morning. i am an independent and i will tell you, i am to the point where i take a step back and look at how extreme both sides become within this period, and sometimes i do not like my voice matters at all. and the point being that when we

see all these extreme factions that go to their corners and there is the reluctance to speak out against those problems because of the fear of being canceled or ostracized by the groups or may be losing the path in your career because you said something that goes against the extreme ideologies is becoming more and more entrenched. i am just wondering you as a congressman from pennsylvania where a lot of gerrymandering problems and campaign-finance issues have arisen and north carolina was just gerrymandered. my district was just cut in half in a way that is egregious and goes and goes in the propensity of what james madison said would be a problem later on in the federalist papers for politicians picking their voters. the point being, what needs to happen, look into the camera of the american people who are listening and who do listen to c-span and tell them what do we

need to do to turn this around so that the middle of the country finds its northstar again and pushes out the factions on the extremes. guest: great comment and great question. the caller, you can tell from his voice there is a certain disagree -- debris -- degree of dispiritedness and disillusionment. i found that this country really needs to have a stronger center. from centerleft to center-right and i am focusing more on center-right that we need to get that bent -- better and we need to have people in office whose first loyalty is to the constitution. to the principles that i have outlined. that is what i need and certainly within the republican party and america. we need people dedicated to these types of principles who

also believe in governance. i think one of the earlier callers suggesting that the other side is the enemy. and if you deal with the enemy you are a trader essentially is what they are saying. that is the state of american politics and that caller, i think it was a woman, she laid it out pretty clearly. and if americans view the other side as the other or the enemy. that is terrible. we need a strong center-right and a strong centerleft in this country so that we can advance an agenda that most americans can agree with. i am upset with the fringes on the right and left who are angry and i have often said they are angry in different ways. those on the right have a cultural anger driven by isolation and -- isolationism, culturally based and from a

trump standpoint he is always staying it is the mexicans or the muslims who are the problem or the chinese, always making the other the problem. on the left it is economically based, it is the rich guys oil and grat -- the oriole and gas industry and the pharmaceuticals and banks. it is economically based populism that looks similar. they are both based in anger. and this is not a healthy pay -- place for americans to be. we need to be aspirational, looking forward and not looking backward, thinking that we can do things better. we have so much going for ourselves and there are a few people talking about this country as if we have already been defeated. i reject that notion and i would say we need people like yourself to stay engaged and helped build that center. and i will tell everybody, go to ourrepublicanlegacy.com and let

us get involved and let us build the movement and arguments and be a place where people can go that feel is that caller does and many others that are politics need to get better. i served 28 years in elected office and ran 13 times. i enjoyed my constituents and i think they liked me too. i think that that was such a great honor. overwhelming me my interactions were quite positive. we did not always agree but at least we were able to have good conversations and respectful conversations and we need to restore civility in our politics because we have been through worse times and we have been through a civil rower -- civil war. we can do better and the caller should not give up. host: who were the blue dogs and what was the tuesday group? what happened to both of those things? guest: the blue dogs are still operating in congress but not as

large as they were. the new democrats is an organization that tried to appeal to more centerleft democrats. the tuesday group has renamed itself. it was a republican governance group which reflects what exactly they are. they change the name and i was a cochair of that group. it still exists as the main street partnership, it is an allied or sister group. both of those groups represent i will say pragmatic republicans who have a sense of governance. some are ideologically very conservative and some are more modern it -- moderate and some have a sense of governance. they have strong numbers in the house. as far as i know the new democrat group is large. the blue dogs are smaller than they have been. they are still there. but the point is that center at times feels like it is not

getting the attention that it deserves. they are not about blowing the place up. the freedom caucus was always willing to take a hostage legislatively speaking. they use their leverage to try to force the house to do whatever they wanted and they got a lot more attention than those trying to govern. these tuesday group members or governance group or main street new democrats and blue dogs are not trying to blow the place up, they are trying to make it work. it is important that those types of organizations within the congress be supported and empowered. host: 20 minutes left. this is clarence. nashville, tennessee. republican. caller: enjoying the show. this gentleman represents an organization with a very good name, but when you started talking about the members that, i was taken aback by the wines,

but not -- the ones, but not surprised especially when you mentioned michael steele. this tells me that this would be a good idea to have this gentleman on in december of this year, but not now. it is this group that he mentioned that has caused the republican party to be so split up and losing the number of elections that we have lost recently. so i think you are a traitor to the name of republican. and the quicker that this group that brought on the problems with this party wants to now unified. it is a joke. host: congressman. guest: clarence, with respect,

the republican party has been losing quite a bit recently under donald trump. 2018, the house was lost. 2020, republicans lost the senate and particularly in georgia where donald trump pushed into that runoff and delivered two seats in the majority to the senate to the democrats. also in 2020 donald trump himself lost the presidency by a pretty significant margin in the popular vote. you know, so in 2022, republicans underperformed in the house elections. and in a year where they probably should have cleaned up. when he says people like me are responsible for losing, i would argue it is the opposite. many of the people who have defected from the party and that i hope that they do not, but those who have were in these types of swing districts.

where they won, like i had to win in districts with more democrats and -- then republicans. we are not doing that. i would reject the notion that the people like myself who are in congress are somehow a bunch of losers. we won and we won a lot. since donald trump led the party we have seen a lot of defeat and if you want to be a governing party you have to do better in community is where we once were -- communities where we were once strong and now we are struggling. that suggests that this is the fault of the old guard is absurd. host: some of the other names of the members of our republican legacy are listed online if you want to find them. barbara comstock, tom davis, john katko, adam kinzinger, michael steele, gordon smith,

dan quayle and charlie dent who is joining us this morning. you mentioned that you are not getting politically involved in 2024, what does that mean, we will not be seeing ads? there is not going to be get out the vote efforts? guest: we will do messaging about what we are advocating, digital messaging largely but we will be doing outreach. but we are not advocating in this election for candidates. we are not doing that. we are not a pac, we are trying to create a movement. again a counter argument or resistance to what maga is pushing. that is what we are talking about. we need to develop the ideas, as i mentioned the five principles. we want people to join us and help develop that movement. we realize that we are on the short end and that the mag movement -- maga is dominant but

we have to have an alternative because people have been saying where's the alternative? we are trying to present that alternative. i have always said that too often silence is not a narrative. it does not counter what the maga movement is pushing. it is time that we create the movement and we have people like senator jack danforth, former senator alan simpson and former senator bill cohen and i will say they are the older statesmen of the movement and we want people to sign up as we have all served at different times. and we know and believe in america and believe that we can do better and be a more unified nation that one day embraces the constitution, the union, fiscal

responsibility, strength and standing up to bullies. we believe it and we think these are good principles and a lot of independent and democrats believe with the -- believe that with us to. let us roll these people into the movement. if you want to build a party you need to make it inclusive. you are not trying to excommunicate heretics. we can accept diversity of opinion within our movement. we think that is healthy and a political party. some people do not. they say if you do not agree with me you are the enemy and you should be gone and executed. and excommunicated. that is not how you grow a congregation. you bring people in and accept that they are going to be differences and you work them out. host: 10 minutes left. the group is our republican legacy. easy enough to find online. ourrepublicanlegacy.com. jay on the republican line out of woodlawn, tennessee.

caller: thank you for taking my call. representative dent, you are the very reason of the republican party that puts me towards the idea of changing. i am not a republican, i am an independent. and by that, what i mean is i am a conservative, i am not a republican. republicans have lost the idea of being conservative first. and then being republican. you remind me of the guys back in the day, the ronald reagan days. some of the greater days that this country has ever seen. you guys would stand up and say i am a ronald republican, and

then once you got elected, you turned into wishy-washy. you were not conservative. you did not stand for conservative ideas, even though you said you did. like, both bushes. daddy bush got rid of ronald reagan ideas. son bush went totally off to the left of ronald reagan. that is the reason why the republican party fell away to the side. host: that is jay. guest: again, with respect, this is not simply about reagan republicans. in fact we have a great deal for the former president. just as we did for dwight eisenhower and others. i would say to this gentleman that he is saying very kind things about president reagan,

as he should. at the same time i do not think that ronald reagan would recognize where the party is today. many of the things that ronald reagan stood for like supporting the allies and peace through strength, i do not see that in the maga movement. ronald reagan would have been the first to support ukraine and their struggle. that is not where we are today as a party. i do not think that ronald reagan would be supporting these absurd tariffs. he believed in the free market. i am trying to understand. i consider myself a center-right type of person, moderately conservative. that is a good thing, frankly. some are very conservative and some are less conservative but that does not matter. we all embrace certain principles. i would say that many of the people, he is right about one thing. i do not know that i would call the maga movement a conservative movement.

i would call it liberal populist. i do not think it is very conservative. i agree with the caller. but to suggest that somehow the party of reagan has been abandoned by people like me and others in this movement i think is unfair because look at jack danforth who served with ronald reagan and simpson all of these folks. they had a lot of suspect -- of respect and agreed with him on many issues. and so again, i am not sure where the caller is coming from. he is right. i am not sure that i would call it a conservative movement. it is a liberal populist movement. host: john in california. line for republicans. good morning. caller: good to hear from you and i remember charlie when he was in government. i would just like to say i do not know where the republicans you represent are going. we have illegals that have been

getting across the borders since biden has been president. what do you think the future is if biden gets reelected? they are going to earn the vote and you will never see another republican president in my lifetime. i do not understand. you talk about the constitution, and what is going on with all of these phony trials that they are putting trump under, is that unconstitutional? host: i apologize. i think we lost the call but we got the point. guest: i got the point. of course the border has to be addressed and i agree that the biden administration has been really slow to the game. at the same time i think republican should engage before the election not just after. but absolutely this has to be done. when i was in the house on the homeland security committee i was doing quite a bit to make sure that we have better

protection at the border and to try to establish operational control. where if the republicans been? i am not sure what else to say except that there are a lot of republicans who are dispirited who want something better. he is saying we are not going to be able to win an election again, i would disagree. sometimes we have to present a message that reaches out to more folks than just those in the base. i have seen in pennsylvania that suburban communities that were once dominated by the republicans have become strongly democratic and this is throughout my state and nationally. it is about drawing more people in. so when he talks about losing, everybody keeps talking about losing. that is right. the party has been losing because it is not reaching out

to enough folks. i am encouraged to see that so many african-american and hispanic voters are moving towards the gop and i think asian voters are moving there. if the party continues at efforts, those are important. we also have to be the party that is one that people feel comfortable joining. and too often particularly from president trump he will tell people that he does not want them in the party. and the gentleman refers to those. well the president's conduct, let us set aside new york, whether or not this is a good case or not. i do not think it is strong. we can agree that the conduct that led to the trial is really bad. you should not have paid off an adult film star to conceal an affair or alleged affair. that is what he did. the conduct is terrible. that conduct in mar-a-lago, withholding declassified

documents and then obstructing and refusing to return them is serious. i would not say that is a joke or it is unconstitutional. in my view, that is a serious charge. and you know, if congress had done that we would have been arrested and prosecuted for taking classified documents and refusing to return them. to say that is unconstitutional i would disagree. and people attacked the capital on january 6 and there are prosecutions going on about that. those people waved unconstitutionally to say the least and many of them were violent and to suggest that these people are hostages or victims is absurd. and we need is a party to call that stuff out when there are people who say that they are republicans who attacked the capital as they did on that day to stop the peaceful transfer of power. we should be appalled.

and rightly call it out and condemn it and prosecute that kind of crime. host: jared on the democratic line. wilmington, delaware. good morning. caller: hello, mr. dent. thank you, i am from pennsylvania originally. i am an african-american millennial. my first time voting was for barack obama but i really got into politics during the hillary and trump debates and bernie. so much so i love my country i named my kids justice and liberty. i am really into america and where it is headed. i have a question. you said all of the things about the trial and you are really outspoken and i commend you on that on donald trump and his threat to democracy. democracy is not only for republicans and democrats that is for all people. if we wanted we have to work for

it. my question is with some people leaning towards donald trump and forgetting about the 2020's with covid and all the lives and jobs we lost, what do you think happens if god forbid, donald trump becomes president. do we have a civil war or do we keep our democracy? what will happen if he does get back into office and not held accountable for the things of the past? he is implementing project 2025. i would like your idea on project 2025 and what happens if he gets into the office. host: about two minutes left and i will let you end with this. guest: if he were to be reelected or elected again, i say i would like to think that our institutions are strong and many of them will hold. obviously they have been under stress, particularly the courts. the courts stood up in 2020 with

all of these election challenges whether they were republican or democratic child -- judges they followed the law. i feel good about that. i am concerned about project 2025 that we keep hearing about that the trump administration would likely populate itself with many folks who would carry out the worst impulses of donald trump, pulling out of nato and i wonder what would happen putting in people who would want to weaponize the department of justice to go after political enemies as i think the former president suggested that he would. i do worry about that and i would like to think that our democracy will hold. i do not have any crystal ball to tell people what that administration would look like and how the country would react. i am concerned going forward because we are so divided that there could be civil disorder after the election because a lot of folks do not feel that those results would be legitimate.

that is an issue that we must address as a country. so i am fearful of what life could be like after the election. host: the group is our republican legacy. you can find them online atour republican legacy.com. charlie dent a senior advisor. we always appreciate your time. coming up in about 20 minutes and into the memorial day weekend, a conversation with a retired navy captain, gene moran, about military honors during memorial day. first, about 20 minutes of public policy or political issues that you want to talk about. the phone lines are yours. start calling you now and we will get to them -- start calling in now, and we will get to them. ♪

>> today, watch c-span's 2024 campaign trail, a weekly roundup of campaign coverage providing a one-stop shop to discover what the candidates are saying to voters along with first-hand accounts of political reporters, and campaign ads. watch 2024 campaign trail today at 7:30 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span.org or download it as a podcast on c-span now. the free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. ♪ >> american history tv saturdays on c-span2, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. 3:00 p.m. eastern a discussion on labor history focusing on

migrants and lgbtq workers part of the 2024 organization of american historians conference. on the american history tv series congress investigates we look at historic congressional investigations that led to changes in policy and law. in 1994 top tobacco ceos testified before the house that they did not believe that nicotine was addictive. two years ago they found -- two years later they found themselves under investigation for lying under oath. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, professor ian ona johnson looks at the conflict over atlantic sea lanes in world war ii and the 1967 u.s. army film on physical fitness and the armed forces. at 9:30 on the presidency, cliff sloan talks about franklin delano roosevelt's relationship with the supreme court during world war ii. watch american history tv saturdays on c-span2, andind a

full schedule in the program guide or watch any time at c-span.org/history. >> tune into c-span's live coverage of the 2024 national political convention starting with republican one in milwaukee. next up the democrats kicking off in august in chicago. stay connected for uninterrupted and unfiltered view of democracy at work. watch the national conventions live the summer on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span.org. c-span, or until -- your unfiltered view of politics. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates

45 years of governing congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balance, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policies are debated and decided all with the support of american cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> washington journal continues. host: it is time for the open forum. any public policy or political issue want to talk about, the phone lines are available. those phone lines are as usual, democrats, republicans and independents. just a note on programming today. including vice president harri'' and the kenyan president ruto are attending the u.s.-kenya business forum hosted by the chamber of commerce which is highlighting the economic ties between our country and kenya.

live coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. and it will be available on c-span.org andhe free c-span now app. all weekend -- all weekend long c-span will be life with the libertarian al convention being held in d.c.. today at 3:3 eastern robert f. kennedy, jr. is speaking to convention degates and we will cover that at 6:00 p.m. today. the libertarian vice presidential candidates will meet in a debate. and then at 8:00 p.m., the winning candidate wl mpete in an event with form republican presidential candidate the vet, swa -- evette ramaswamy. that is in all of those times eastern on c-span and c-span.org and c-span now. open forum, your phone calls or

whatever issue you want to talk about. larry. north carolina, independent. you are up first. caller: good morning and i hope you are doing well. i wanted to talk to mr. dent but we ran out of time and that is ok. what i wanted to bring up is that i was like-minded with gabriel andjay, both independents. i was mystified that mr. dent seems like it is the new lincoln project rebranded, so it can throw a curve in the election coming up. unfortunately, i was wondering why mr. dent did not have any ire at the democrat party since almost the time that trump was inaugurated that all you heard was russian collusion, maxine

waters yelling impeach 45 and all of the stuff that was going on by the liberals. where is his conservative principles there? that is just what i wanted to bring up. and i wanted a question to him. but we ran out of time, and i understand. host: this is morris and san jose, -- in san jose, california. democrat. caller: i was listening to mr. dent and as a former member of congress i was shocked that he was allowing a lie to be told. a caller said that there are 10 million people who cross the border illegally and that they would eventually be voting. and in the process killed the republican party. anybody who has any knowledge at all would know that they would have to be a citizen in order to vote.

these people are not citizens and they do not vote. mr. dent was a former member of congress of the united states. and he has not going to share that information with the caller or with the public? host: in federal elections, but there are local elections where noncitizens can vote and one of those places was the target of a house bill yesterday. that house passing legislation that would undo a district of columbia law that allows noncitizens to vote in local elections in d.c.. as it notes that bill has no chance of passing in the democratically controlled senate or being signed by joe biden. did you have any comment? ok. morris, san jose. north carolina. republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i also want to -- i also wanted

to talk to the person. he is anti-republican. he is the one trying to split the party. i just feel like we are all voting for trump. and the republican party needs to get together and they need to back trump. if they have anything to say, worry about 2028. we are for trump. so, i consider him a rino. anybody who votes for biden is -- his mental state alone is the scariest thing on earth. so why a republican would turn around. he is voting for biden and biden is not mentally capable of being a president. i do not understand these people thinking biden is doing a good job. he does not know what he is doing. i think he thinks he is doing a good job because somebody is feeding biden a bunch of end of -- information. host: karen out of las vegas.

independent. you are up next. caller: i missed the previous program. i wanted to speak about something else. i keep hearing from both sides that we need a two state solution in israel. look at what happened for the last 70 years. how can there be a two state solution when they have not been able to get along in the last 70 years? israel has had to put up checkpoints and walls just to be safe. and they are bombed every day, all around them. i would like to hear solutions other than a two state solution. obviously, that is not going to work. host: this is dan in independence, oregon. democrat. good morning. caller: since we are speaking about israel i would like to put

two facts out there. we are the reason that israel exists. we help them become a country, again, and every time israel has done something wrong and the united nations has tried to rein them in, the united states has vetoed it, over 50 times. it benefits israel more than any other eat -- veto in the united nations. yes, it is our fault. we let them get away with it. so they are at fault -- we are. host: pennsylvania, northampton. good morning. caller: good morning c-span and thank you for taking my call. i was hoping to talk to mr. dent. i have very distinct memories of him being my congressman as a child. i want to start by just saying i

do not think he gets it. people like himself and this sort of moderate or neoconservative branch of the republican party do not get it. they are stuck in the past of ronald reagan. newsflash, young people do not care about ronald reagan. we have seen the aftermath of his continued policy of industrialization. i used to live in the rust belt and i have seen what has happened. people are depressed, people who lost jobs in manufacturing which was once the jump up into the middle class. he does not get it. we do not care about trickle-down economics because it has not trickled down. we knew that in 1992 when ross perot talked about how did not trickle-down. people like charlie dent they just do not get it. host: tim in lincoln, nebraska. democrat. good morning.

are you with us? lincoln, nebraska? rose. sugar grove, illinois. republican. good morning. caller: good morning. i am so excited to talk. ok, i am going to tell you, john that i was a democrat for about four years of my life. and i do not appreciate how the democrats have changed. i am a christian person and when donald trump won, i listen to him and i listen to hilary and she was all about late-term abortion. there is no way i have read -- i believe in late-term abortion. but what i see the democratic party doing, they are a shame what they tried to force on children in schools with dei.

it is disgusting as a christian person what they are doing. the trump family have been workers all their life and i respect that. he reaches across the lines, he really does. they can say whatever they want but look what he did yesterday in the bronx. that is wonderful. they are weaponizing, biden is weaponizing against his opponents. it's apparent, i watch c-span all the time and i love your program. and i'm so happy that you are allowing people to say their thoughts, but the democratic party has gone off on a radical agenda and normal americans are not that way and the guy who was on before he is the kind of republican white people -- why people didn't care anymore.

the freedom caucuses wonderful people. those are the people. if it were up to me, i would say trump and desantis. host: rose mentioned diversity equity and inclusion programs. one story on that from today's washington times. north carolina's public university system voted yesterday to repeal a nearly five-year-old varsity equity and inclusion policy meaning it's 17 schools will likely join other major universities in cutting de i jobs and programs. the 24 member board of governors approve the agenda which included the diversity policy repeal with two members voting against that policy. the policy change focuses on removing a 2019 regulation it outlines various de i positions such as officers across university systems and to find those officers goals and duties such as assisting with the

diversity program and managing training for staff. more of that in today's washington times. chantel, franklin massachusetts, independent, good morning. caller: i lost my dad in january after a couple your batter with cancer. he was a vietnam era veteran. he joined on his own but never made it to vietnam and decided to be a firefighter. he was a lifelong republican. i voted as an independent, i was born in the 80's. i think everyone needs to really calm down and i can't go anywhere without people bringing up politics yet it always seems to be republicans. i think people need to really just take it down a notch, come together and remember we are all americans.

i have been called an anti-american even though i'm the daughter of the veteran and a firefighter because i disagree with someone. i really do not understand how people can go -- call the person who said trump is from a working american family. that is just a joke. he is a trust fund baby. we need to really get down to the bottom and put regular people who actually care back. we don't need to go to these two extremes. i think people talking about there are normal republicans, that's a good thing. i think we need to get back to that. and i think we need to pay attention to who will invest in health care, foreign policy. when it comes to, i am an independent but when it comes to the right, they really do not have -- they are anti-but they don't have a policy or

immigration reform. they just don't. we need to just -- we need to calm down and come together and figure out how to get things done. host: before you go, what was your dad's name. caller: stephen, newton firefighter for 33 years. host: did you of the military service for his funeral? caller: he was buried with honors in the national cemetery right in cape cod and he served as a navy cv in 66 and 67. host: what will you be doing this memorial day? caller: i will be thinking of my dad, they are going to do a great service down there for him. -- i will be thinking of him and others who served. host: thank you for talking about your dad, appreciate your call. host: that's good to do it in this open forum segment.

about an hour to go in the washington journal. in that time as we head into the memorial day weekend, a conversation about how america honors its fallen heroes. we will be joined by retired navy captain jean moran. we will be back. ♪ >> c-span's campaign 2024 coverage continues live with a three day and libertarian nationalonntion. highlights include independent pridential candidate robert f. kennedy, jr. followed by vice presidential debate featuring former republican presidential contender the vague ramaswamy and then on saturday, former

president and presumptive republican nominee donald trump will sak to delegates and on sunday the party announces its presidential nominee for the november election. the libertarian national convention. live today at 3:30 p.m. eastern on c-span, are free video app and online at c-span.org. >> american history tv saturdays on c-span two, exploring the events that tell the american story. a discussion on labor history focusing on migrants and lgbtq workers part of the 2024 organizations of american historians conference. our american history tv series congress investigates looks at historic congressional investigations that led to changes in policy and law. top tobacco industry ceos testify before the house that

they did not believe nicotine was addictive. two years later they found themselves under federal investigation for potentially lying under oath. on lectures and history, university of notre dame professor examines the conflict over atlantic sea lengths during world war ii. 1967 u.s. army film on physical fitness in the armed forces. at 9:30 on the presidency cliff -- exploring the american story. watch american history tv saturday on c-span two and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online any at c-span.org/history. >> the house will be in order. >> c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other.

since 1979 we've been your primary source for capitol hill providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government. taking you to where the policy is debated and decided with the support of america's cable company. c-span, 45 years and counting. powered by cable. host: scenes yesterday from arlington memorial cemetery just across the potomac river from washington dc in arlington, virginia. the name of the ceremony happens ahead of memorial day joining us to talk about how america honors its fallen heroes this morning we are joined by a retired navy captain jean moran. what is flags info folks who don't live around the area? >> it's an annual event where

markers -- flags are placed on markers for those who are buried at arlington. over 200,000 memorial plots there for the entire cemetery and it's quite an impactful scene and when you see that effect. host: some 260,000 headstones. 1000 soldiers from the old guard base there at arlington about four hours, in your career you helped facilitate burials at arlington national cemetery, what does that consist of? >> it is a complex process that requires a substantial amount aforethought. the cemetery staff are experts at this. but in my last role in the navy i ran the navy senate liaison

office where many of the dignitaries would pass through as part of their coming to washington for that experience. in some cases they would need some support in facilitating family member attendance at the event. there is usually a memorial service, there is a procession down to the burial site. my experience is with section 60 , of the iraq and afghanistan war dead are buried. it is sad to see how that site had proliferated in a relatively short amount of time. but families come to town and they are looking for someone to guide them. and there is a substantial process that helps families feel comfortable in that unusual setting. >> arlington national cemetery, america's most famous military cemetery but there's more than

two dozen around the world. how many have you visited? >> i've had the good fortune to lead congressional delegations around the world to american battle monuments, terry's as you suggest. they are throughout the world. many in europe i think france has the most, over two dozen. but they are a spectacular scene to see how incredibly well manicured they are and how dignified the final resting place is for those who lost their lives overseas. since you mentioned it i think it is worth reflecting on it this memorial day, that connection to those world war ii ceremonies that are around the world. i think as we come up on the 80th anniversary of d-day on june 6, that is for score. that's generations ago and some have lost touch with what that sacrifice was all about and what

it has allowed for in terms of the way of life we've lived. >> there's plenty of ceremonies happening around the world and here in d.c.. for d-day, c-span will be covering some of the live events out in normandy that day and also here in d.c.. this also events in bedford, virginia where the national d-day memorial is. c-span on d-day june 6 and on june 8, a full day of d-day programming. we are focusing this morning into memorial day how americans recognize and remember their military dead. we want to hear your stories as we are chatting with jean moran this morning. the ways you can call in this morning we will put the phone numbers on the screen. but we want to hear from you. what are you doing with your family, do you have a military

connection in your family. go ahead and start calling in. i want to show this op-ed from usa today, the headline this memorial day we recognize a different top 1%. the 1% of americans who volunteered to serve in the armed forces. it is peter bashir opinion column who writes nearly 80% of army recruits have a relative in uniform. the solar's know the privilege and sacrifice their part of wearing that uniform yet they write what about the 99% who do not. what would you say about those americans who do not have military member and their family or connection to the military about the importance of maybe visiting one of these cemeteries, one of these monuments and memorial this memorial day particularly. >> they are more readily accessible than people might

realize. they exist regionally and there may be some in someone's hometown they just aren't familiar with. sometimes we just do not ask questions. and there are veterans all around us and if we don't get past that superficial level of conversation we may never get to understand what it was in their family legacy that might've made them want to serve. that legacy is part of where are recruits of today come from. you mentioned 1% that serve. there are only 30% eligible to serve if you look at the statistics of physical readiness, mental acuity. and the retention challenges is quite serious. but here more specific point i think engaging in conversation could be helpful. i've recently been part of a book called the military factor.

one of 50 that's highlighting the diversity of career paths and reasons that people serve and what their story of service is or was. it is an effort to try and educate those not in the military community about the value of veterans, what they learn on active duty. how disciplined and able they are to contribute to a team environment in a corporate setting. >> in my teenage years there were people important in my life. my father served in the navy during the time of korea and i had an uncle who served in world war ii. they were all very successful in their chosen career paths after active duty. and they all attributed their success to the grounding and discipline that they gained while on active duty. i joined thinking i would do a similar thing serve four to five

years and go corporate. and they stayed in for nearly 25 years. >> i served -- in the navy you serve at sea or in the sea. i was on six different ships. and you alternate sea and shore duty. my shore duties were in the washington dc environment. so over time i gained that understanding of the complexity of how the pieces fit together. at sea my ships were in service of the landtag in the persian gulf. the adriatic sea, of the red sea. the gulf of aden. halfway around the world as we would say. >> did you ever lose at sailor under your command. >> that's a metric people don't talk about but it's always on the mind of people with command responsibility. >> how did you go from serving at sea to up here in capitol hill. >> the navy needs people that

understand various parts of the process. i had served in the pentagon and the joint staff at j three. i had developed some acumen in the way the budget works. and i had an interest in how congress works and their fellowship programs that allow for sharing of people across the agency as a way to cross pollinate. i was able to participate in one of those programs that lit a fire. i had a background in political science and was comfortable in the environment and wound up serving multiple tours representing the navy to congress. >> retired navy captain jean moran joining us throughout the end of today's program and as we enter the memorial day weekend hear the phone lines to join the conversation and we want to hear your stories. military families, 202-748-8000. active and former military, 202-748-8001.

all others, 202-748-8002. we want to hear your stories this morning with jean moran. tom is in baltimore maryland up first, good morning. >> good morning sir. my families was served in the military. my family came over from germany in the 1880's. first generation uncle george served in the caloric -- calorie. my uncle john served in the hospital and took care of the wounded. and my father served in the 1920's and the army and my late uncle uncle paul served in the army and once in germany. but he was american then. myself i served in the marine service in the 1960's the suffering services all volunteers and especially the crew of the uss scorpion.

i will always remember them. thank you sir. host: thank you for the call. did you know any of the members of the uss scorpion? caller: i was on the uss cerrado. they were nuclear trained. it was a conventional submarine but it was very quiet. they give us all geneva convention cards in case we were put up there. one of the guys made it in one of them didn't. you got to be careful what you wish for. >> thank you for the call. do you know the story of the scorpion? >> i do not specifically but i admire the courage of particularly the earliest generations of submariner's, it takes tremendous courage and skill and the submarine force has involved -- evolved into a nuclear navy.

that's a highly precise lifestyle and method of service. >> we are talking about honoring the fallen. what is a burial at sea, have you ever witnessed one of those? >> i've done many and presided over many. they are quite dignified. many veterans choose to be buried at sea and the navy has a procedure for that to happen and over time the remains will come to the ship. it could be remains but it could will be assigned to a ship who will be out at sea on a normal operation or on a training mission. >> so these could be world war ii veterans or any generation. >> absolutely and it could be someone very recent. you don't know and the ship has no say in that of course, but it's an assignment and an admission that the ships perform and there's a dignified ceremony

, the charts are marked and there's a very nice package that goes to the family that shows the video and ceremony, the 21 gun salute. a chart of where that burial took place and we tried to do that in the most dignified way possible. >> why do we do 21 guns? >> this a long tradition there. >> maybe sunday we can look up as we are chatting with steve. good morning. >> i'm not related to any -- my uncles and dad were in world war ii but in korea. i wanted to let you know that i played trumpet so i've been doing the bugles across america and i want to let people know about that where you have a lot of debt you have a bugle player, and play taps.

it's pretty moving. >> how did you get involved in bugles across america steve? >> it is one of those things. there's a lot of music and things like that out there and a kind of just ran across it and i'm pretty much retired from everything so it's nice to get out. though i hate to say my suit doesn't really fit anymore. from when i used it for other concerts. >> is the world war ii veterans were leaving us in great numbers a couple of decades ago or even a decade ago we were not able as to support all the funerals with a live bugler, sometimes a because set or compact disk or recording it's great to have volunteers who can do that in person. i've been part of ceremonies with both versions that are both

quite dignified. but we need volunteers like that who will give up their time and make such a impact on the family and that final moment. >> we've been talking about arlington national cemetery. a hopeful -- as well as a primer from their website. it's a military tradition that originated in the 14th century. the 21 gun salute is the highest honor rendered, the custom sends from naval tradition when a warship would dignify a lack of hostile intent by firing its canons out to sea until all ammunition was spent. the british navy developed the custom of a seven gun salute because naval vessels typically had seven guns because greater quantity of gun powers could be stored on dry land or wood fire three rounds for every one fired at sea hence the number 21. with the approval they increase 21 as well. between one gun salute eventually became the international standard.

always helpful. line for veterans. good morning. >> good morning. i served from 1971 to 1980. and my father and all my uncles, my father was in the navy as well. and we have a tradition, we had -- i have three great greats and one great grandfather who fought in the civil war and then a great great uncle who fought with mad anthony wayne during the revolutionary war. i want to call because we lost five guys in a training accident, a plane crash and one of those guys was a guy named chief mcdowell. he used -- i worked on the

flight line and hung out, when he would finish his pre-flight he would always come over and play a game i'm sure you're familiar with. but i always remember that on this day. thank you. that's all i have. >> people your member along the way. the people you remember. guest: over time, the boardroom and the crew of the ship they tend to blend together and i'll run across people now and have to struggle to recall which ship was that. fortunately some of the social media channels like linkedin make it easier to maintain some contact. but in every command there is -- there are a few that really distinguish themselves in highly unique ways. they rise to an occasion or they

demonstrate some capability that maybe they did not know that they had. and they went on to help in a critical mission. host: you talk about a close-knit military community. if somebody again who does not have a military connection in their family has some trepidation about going to a military cemetery imposing on this tightknit community in these families that are there. what would you say to those on the fence about that. especially on this memorial day weekend. >> if one were to visit a cemetery and come upon a family that was visiting, ask a question. they would not mind that at all. they would love to tell the story. any servicemember would love to tell their story and we'll talk at length about how things went -- how things went and what they experienced.

family members would love to have that connection. i would have no hesitation to walk up to a family not in a moment of grief, but this they were walking to or from, that would be completely appropriate. >> talking about telling the story. c-span over the years has been very good about oral histories especially with veterans and there's plenty in our archives with american history tv, yesterday we did one in the coming weeks with a 100-year-old world war ii veteran. who flew b 24's in the pacific and was talking about his experience, there's not many world war ii veterans left. the importance in your mind of that generation of veterans as we are at the point of losing that generation. >> it strikes me that we are losing the connection with the

war that brought about a world order that has allowed for this relative peace i know we've been a nation at war in the middle east, but globally there has been relative peace. until fairly recently where we see certain levels of testing happening around the world. host: what do you mean by testing? >> testing that order, exactly. i don't think it's a coincidence that there are concerns with china and taiwan and russia ukraine, with the middle east. the timing of israel and iran. these things have linkages and they are fundamentally a challenge to a world order that has a western focus to it. it came about after world war ii. so many tens of thousands gave their all, that final measure to help assure that. and i think we've lost touch with that for a lot of good

reasons. people live their lives and if they don't know people who have a connection to it or they have not served themselves, it's easy to be dismissive. i've been to over 60 countries and seeing what's around the world. that's a lot of travel but many people don't have, most americans visit one country in their life and most americans don't read a book. these are documented facts and so if we lose that connection, we lack understanding and we make decisions sometimes based on incomplete or imperfect information. >> about halfway through this segment discussing into more memorial day how we honor the fallen in u.s. militaries. we should also note some of our c-span programming on this memorial day weekend. tomorrow here on c-span it's 10:00 a.m. eastern you can watch president biden at the u.s.

military academy at west point with the commencement, the president shaking the hands of those graduates at west point. you can watch on c-span.org and the free c-span now video app. the importance of the president going to the graduation. >> he is the commander-in-chief. the best and brightest our nation has to offer. they made a commitment to service. i think it is a minimal gesture that should be expected, i know there's some rotational plan which service academy the president speaks out and when is sometimes as a vice president. there are for that. i think it's an important message. >> line for military families, thank you for calling. >> will we ever remember the

folks from vietnam? host: will we ever met with the soldiers of vietnam. >> i would hope so. i know the nation has had trouble history of reckoning with how that war was conducted and how those soldiers and sailors were treated on return. i think what we saw after the gulf war and in the earlier phases of the iraq and afghanistan wars, a conscious effort to try and get it right so that we didn't do that again to a follow on generations of soldiers. i think we struggled with the iraq and afghanistan veteran recovery efforts, congress tried to help make that better. >> i think we initially did a very poor job of not being ready

to deal with the problems that came back both physical and the unseen wounds. a lot of energy was put into that. we went through several administrations of veterans, several directors, congress put a lot of money on the problem to try and help it. we hear less about it now. but for those that interact with those follow-on services it is a huge bureaucracy. >> what year did you join the navy? what was your impression of the vietnam veteran generation in 1980. >> i had a family member who had served in vietnam as a ranger and went on to become a doctor. served in hawaii at the north military hospital out there. we lost him some years ago, he

was an older cousin of mine who was a very positive connection so while i did not understand as a young child and emerging teenager, some of the ramifications of the vietnam war i knew it through more positive lens than many people do. >> did you understand of the time what this country was going through and how they treated that generation when they came back. >> i would say no. the famous movie born on the fourth of july was probably my generation's to that. and i don't mean to make a short shrift of it. it was serious. my recollection of my earliest time at service was more aligned with the rise of the reagan navy , we are going to invest in a 600 ship navy and we set out to do that. >> born on the fourth of july was your exposure to that part of this countries military history. i wonder about the importance of

some of these big-budget hollywood movies about war in exposing america to a part of this country that is just 1% of this. i'm thinking as we go into d-day 80th anniversary, to some of the d-day movies over time. >> there's one that's even more current. it's not specific to d-day that i will commend to anyone in the audience. the president of the navy league and the sarasota county, we were part of a showing of the navy blue angels the movie they just released is on a limited release in a couple of days and it was moved -- it will move to netflix. i am a ship guy. host: what is it called? guest: it is of the blue angels and it is phenomenal. i would encourage anyone to spend 90 minutes to watch that. it is all about the incredible teamwork and precision involved

in working in very close formation. the blue angels are a demonstration team, it's not combat but those are proven combat pilots who move forward to participate in that. it is an incredible show. host: the blue angels, 2024 prime video is where you can find that, a preview on imdb.com. we can show you that and we hear from anthony out of arizona. good morning. >> good morning. i wish there was a way as we honor fallen military members that -- my father served out here in arizona in 1954, he was here, he was in korea before then and then returned back to north carolina and they discovered that he had alcoholism problem so they

booted him out and as a military veteran who served in the cold war, my battalion commander was a full blown alcoholic. as a matter fact for the officer professional development, the whole battalion of officers they had to go see him and -- which is the highest level where you are committed for alcoholism. and so as far as me wanting to honor my father, there is no way that i am able to input my name and then see the feedback from all of the military members that have served in my family because i am african-american and that documentation doesn't exist as far as being able to ease that

sense that i should be able to input my name and it should go back if there was military service. that they would allow it to be populated and i could see what my brothers served and my sister served. i'm one of two people out of a family of eight who retired, but over 50% of my family of that age served and the challenges that we all faced and so as we honor our fallen military, one of the ways that i honor them is by letting them see me stand as an example that the military has not broken me. it has honored me so. i wear my uniform on memorial day and i write a lot, i have an acknowledgment that i wrote last year and i will briefly share

the first part of the stanza. let them see you standing in acknowledgment of your service. showing tribute to those who gave all they had, all plus any reserve. the last full measure of devotion. so that is how we honor our military members, we go where they are. if they are in the cemetery and we can speak to them, we go and we stand there. and say you mattered. we are on your ground now. host: anthony, thank you for sharing that. guest: those are powerful words. so well captured. i think you highlight a couple of things. an individual can acknowledge memorial day in a personal way and it doesn't have to be with tremendous fanfare or even a visit to a cemetery.

you mentioned dealing with a terrible alcoholism. i can say i came into the service on what i think was the tail end of a pretty serious drug and alcohol issues that were addressed over time. first with the knot in my navy effort to eradicate the use of marijuana. we are talking back in the 70's. but in the 80's and 90's there was a very conscious effort -- the glamour of alcohol. and an effort to make people more aware that that is not a healthy lifestyle. talking about it's a disease and people are exposed to it in different ways. i thank you for so candidly addressing it. to your broader comment about the ability to trace legacies,

there has been a consistent challenge in having databases communicate with one another. it wasn't that long ago the pentagon database could not communicate with the veterans affairs database. much of that has been corrected. some of these records are microfiche and then paper before that. how they digitized has evolved over time. i would not give up hope that that record can eventually be restored. and i would stay in contact with the veterans administration. >> i couldn't help but notice the callers stanza he read from included that phrase the last full measure of devotion famously from abraham lincoln. gettysburg address. dedicating the national soldier cemetery later becoming the gettysburg cemetery. to honor americans fallen.

the last couple of sentences that includes that line abraham lincoln wrote little note nor long remember what state here but can remember what they did give. dedicated here to the unfinished work which they would start here had thus far so nobly advanced. it's rather for us to be here and dedicated to the great task remaining before us that we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gained -- gave the last full measure of devotion. we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and the government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth. abraham lincoln, november the 19th. the prudence of that speech, that address on memorial day. >> as brief as that is, our attention span is five seconds. and so we don't consume in that

way anymore. we don't take the time to reflect on that sort of brilliant commentary of this day. >> frank in pennsylvania. line for military families. caller: the upper end of bucks county, good morning captain and good morning to you john. my father-in-law was a korean war veteran in the infantry division in korea. my father enlisted at the age of 17 in 1945. and he was on the apa 44. the uss fremont. in the engine room crew. at age 18. he was in that situation for 44 to 49. he got out in 49 and he got a job at john's ville development

center which the captain i see his smiling. that was a high-tech capital of america in pennsylvania in the 50's they trained all the mercury astronauts. on the centrifuge. until johnson took it all down to houston texas. in any event he was called back to the navy two weeks after he married my mother in 1950 and he was sent to korea again on the black gang on the 13. it was attached to the uss valley forge. he spent two years there. he came out as a first-place petty officer at age 25. and then went back to john's ville like many of his generation went to night school. and south college in philadelphia. he was promoted and john's ville and became maintenance control director.

one of the new bases that was split in half. civilian and military. when he retired in 86 he was making its control director for the whole base. my brother works as a civilian in the navy. first and john's ville and now it lakehurst in new jersey. i'm in emergency management and they also do reads across america giving back around christmas time. the family is a navy family when i'm in the supermarket i see guys with hats on. and i thank them for their service. >> thank you for sharing. >> if i could mention you talk but your father going in at a young age. what i always marvel at in the military across all services is everybody has a chance. everybody is given an opportunity to perform, to advance based on merit. you talk about a career of advancement to lead as a

first-class petty officer. that is several promotions for those that don't know. and it is based on how hard you work, how well you integrate into the team and how you helped perform the mission. >> a family number who served during the korean war. a war commonly referred to as the forgotten war. what do you think about that term? >> i guess i can understand it. my father served during the time of korea but not in the korean war. he was serving in the navy and the mediterranean. my father-in-law served during the korean war on an aircraft carrier. it was a somewhat smaller scale and the shorter end duration certainly the number impacted of those serving at the time they had been somewhat smaller. but the losses are no less

meaningful to those families. >> c-span covered a recent conference on the korean war and we will air part of that conference on monday on c-span3. on the legacy of the korean war. the origins of the korean war so if you have questions and thoughts watch that. khalil is in hyattsville, maryland. a veteran. good morning. >> good morning. >> i have a point to bring forth that the origins of memorial day are rooted in foundational black americans activities after being freed from slavery. there is a yale historian who asserted that the holiday is rooted in a moving ceremony held

by freed slaves on may 1, 1865 at the tattered remnants of a confederate prison camp at the washington racecourse and docking club. today known as hampton park. the ceremony is believed to have included a parade of as many as 10,000 former slaves including 3000 black schoolchildren singing the union marching song, john brown's body. while carrying arms full of flowers. most of our foundational black american history obscured, but it's very invigorating that we know the roots of memorial day, thank you very much. >> jean moran, any follow-up.

>> i'm not familiar with that story. i don't deny its veracity. >> on memorial day and maybe it's basic question. but one that some americans still struggle with. sweet -- we see this in today's washington post, the yugo pole from 2021. less than one in 10 americans visit the grave site on memorial day, but also many americans don't know the difference between memorial day and veterans day. basic question but the difference between them. what should you be doing on each one of those holidays. >> you would not say happy memorial day example. memorial day you are commemorating those who have fallen and given that last measure. veterans day is more acknowledging prior service, it may include those who have fallen, but it is more about service than to have actually given the final measure. >> as a way to help americans

honor fallen soldiers and veterans, david writing in that same column in the washington post today he proposes not necessarily advocates but one proposal out there, putting memorial day into veterans day. already confusing the two holidays. which has diluted the meaning of each of those holidays. as a result combining those holidays won't minimize either. it could concentrate them into something more powerful. a single invaluable day of the year where american life halts and we are everyone from civil war soldiers to the newest 18-year-old marine whose risk their life in military service. your thoughts on may be combining those days. >> i am a reader of dan pink. if it's the same one, i do not concur. >> george, a veteran in the state of maryland, good morning. >> good morning john.

thank you very much for taking my call. i consider myself a john mccain republican. with that being said, i apologize if i am being repetitive here. but, i guess i could make a statement. i thank captain moran for his service. i think c-span for everything you do. to try and keep their opinions balanced and your guests. my opinion is for any former veterans military families when it's time to vote, please be conscious of individuals who have dishonored former veterans. have dishonored them whether they are in the senate, even dishonored them when they're in their grave and dishonored them

when they actually have the nerve of being a draft dodger. dishonoring people a john mccain. and also perhaps it's a rumor but i heard on a couple of stations that there was a time when our former president was supposed to make an appearance at normandy and because of his -- it was raining, he denied to make that appearance. so my plea is for all veterans and their families to please do their homework when it comes time to vote. and vote for an individual who is an upright individual who loves our country and is not out there for the almighty dollar but is out there for all of americans. host: i appreciate the comment. your mention of senator mccain

reminds me i traveled with senator mccain several times over the course of three years in my senate roll i was his principal military traveler and spent a lot of time with him in a very discrete settings, in his conduct of his roles and responsibilities as a member of the armed services committee just a fascinating individual completely committed to our nation regardless of what you think of his political opinions and military officer didn't ashley have a political alignment at the time. but he sacrificed tremendously for the country and tried to do what he thought was right. no doubt in my mind. the american battle monuments, terry referred to president trump did not appear at was i believe it was outside of paris, that is a well-documented story by general kelly who was his

chief of staff at the time who just could not bear to not show for that event. print -- i participated in those events, the people that live there and live around those cemeteries, tears come to their eyes when they recall their family members who were living at the time in those wars, it is a tremendously impactful, that was not a fine moment for president trump. host: where will you be this memorial day? >> i will be with family in florida. i don't make -- i have occasion throughout the year to participate in various military events. my family has served for nearly 25 years and we understand the connection in our own way. we do not take it for granted. i comment publicly in many

different ways about how love -- lucky we are. because of the sacrifices that have been made by so many that have come before us i do not take it lightly. it's not an easy message to convey. in this time of very short attention span, it is a challenge to penetrate the younger generations that are so removed from. >> you talk about a challenge and just about five minutes left, so it's a bigger subject but the challenge of the transition from military service to what one does afterwards. and one becomes a veteran. how is that transition for you, what do you do now and what advice would you give to those veterans who are in the heart of that? >> i would say you have to allow for the transition to happen, it is not what you expect. you can try to prepare for it,

but that preparation will fall short. it was my exposure to the washington arena i was a natural fit to move in to a washington corporate job with a defense company per eight i did that for a few years. i found it quite unsatisfying. the challenge isn't quite there. it wasn't there for me. the challenge, of teamwork and camaraderie it cannot be replaced. so you have to embrace that and try to deal with it. i found the search for fulfillment was really what i was looking for and as i talked to others, that's what they are looking for. i came to recognize i could be of more service to more companies by helping those that do not have an understanding of the washington environment to better understand it so i'm a defense advisor. an expert so to speak on how the budget and national security apparatus affect businesses and how they can help the government achieve its objectives. >> that company's capital, great

-- integration. >> i mentioned the book i did not write, i am in the book the military affect, it is 50 stories of veterans from all services army, navy and coast guard. i don't think they had a big enough population to draw from. people who are doing very different things than they did on active duty but they can all trace their skill set back to active duty. >> is that already out? guest: the military effect. host: we will hear from michael in new york, that line for veterans, good morning. >> good morning. i want to thank you john and also i want to thank captain moran for his service. and speaking for myself i am a

veteran of the united states army. i served during the vietnam era, i served in south korea with the three 77th medical unit that was the people who brought helicopters into the mash unit. we were situated and i was also with the mash. i would like to say i hope that many people will observe this memorial weekend and in particular memorial day. my family, we make it a point to go to the parade in albany, new york and a cemetery up here is

located up in saratoga, new york. it is the solomon cemetery and we tried also participate in reeds across america. i just want to say i hope and pray that our generations to come will not forget these days. i have family members from the army and air force, they are in saratoga. i have my nephew who is currently with the navy reserve and so we have a tradition under respect for it. my one family member, my uncle who is now deceased served in the korean war.

i just want to say i hope that the generations to come do not forget this honorable day. thank you very much. >> thank you for your families service and for your effort to maintain that connection. it sends a strong message. >> last call is line for military families. mildred, just about a minute and a half here. >> hello. thank you for your service and i want to say my family, my dad was called to world war ii with four young children ages six months to 11 years old. he was called to go fight for our country and his younger brother wasn't even 18 years old

and he wanted to go fight for our country. in the marines he was on the front line and it was -- a total scar down he was so brave. he survived this attack, all my uncles, i just want to give thanks to all of our service people. men and women that have devoted their lives and went to fight for the freedom of our country and if only these young people would realize the freedoms they have in america. if they had to go live in these countries that they are fighting for, not knowing what's going on . they need to stop and think. thank god for the people that have fought for our country and the freedoms and to keep us safe here in america. god bless america and forgive those who said things that have

hurt may be in the past. mr. trumpmr. trump had our coung not relying on our other countries for oil. that is why god put this year. oil, coal, gas. v.p. harris: final thoughts? -- host: final thoughts? guest: the first part, i can't disagree with. well said. i can't get into the political angles. host: it's been a pleasure chatting with you ahead of this memorial day. jean moran, the name of the company again? guest: capital integration. host: how do they find it? guest: my website, genemora n.com. v.p. harris: that will do it -- host: that will do it for the program this morning. it's 7 a.m. eastern, 4 a.m. pacific tomorrow. now, we are t