included, said they want to preserve that but again, what you have now is afghanistan because it is ironic but because this attrition has been deteriorating so much the chinese and russians e less eager to get the americans o and i think they are confronting the fact that if the americans and the nato troops were to withdraw the would be left with this situation in afghanistan and they don't have the capability to deal with that and they are all designed tconduct a joint operation. they made clear they don't want to send thr troops back and the chinese. as long as the relationship, the situation in afghanistan remains were we have a beneficial effect of the russian and chinese driving out of central asia. if however we managed to turn things around it will become more complex again. ..

on how they use technology and social media web sites and in this installment, a conversation with republican representative, john culberson of texas. >> when you think of a political process, what do you believe the

role of social media is as far as how folks like you communicate to the folks at home? >> my job description is representative and most important part of tt of course is to use my own good judgement based on my core principles and knowledge i have of the feelings of my district to "to represent them up here but equally portant is my le as a communicator to stay in touch with people and make sure that they are plugged in and know what i'm doing on their behalf, and insuring that they know from what is being done here in shington, so i use social media, i see social media as a vital part of my job in communicating with my constituents and quite frankly i am somewhat, i am a very passionate jeffersonian republican who believe strongly in the tenth amendment and we need to give the government out of our lives, offer back in the out of our pockets etc. but texans are running taxes and social media will frankly be the root of the next amican revolution that which will

enable people once they see and hear what the government is doing, think they are going put up with it, and the way we will organize people and get them involved and ensure that everyone is participating in the next election and take the government back than a very real way is through social medium. >> host: talk about when you first heard it here,he ways he communicated atomical placably could use the term with folks at home, then how was that changed over the years what kind of technology are you using now? >> guest: traditionalist course we have always used letters, phonecalls originally for itself when i was elected to the state legislature in 1987, why i have a macintosh which was my first computer and i broht that with me to austin, texas i january and set up a program called white knight, what used to be called a bulletin board and i think it was the first elected offial and americans use a computer to communica with my constituents. i set up my mcintosh in my

office ndn my assistant typed in the daily house floor schedule, what bills for being considered by the texas house and actually got in a fair amount of trouble with the house leadership because i almost succeeded in dialing out into the state mainframe computer. would download bellum formation insure that with the public in that aggravated the speaker of t texas house and the leadership in january 87. no one had heard of such a thing and it was just not done but i did succeed, i did it on my own. i had to type in the information and actually that was the first also i think electronic town hall mting because i did like dial-up sessions for people coul tax me, they would typing questions and i would answer th on the keyboard and i remember there was a blind gentleman who used his computer. he had a voice recognition system that would read text of him d he sai that was the first time he was able to know what was going onn his government because like the type the information in this computer read read it aloud so was in january of '87 and i've used

computs aggressively ever since. i love technology. to me it is interesting and exciting. if it is a fast big new computer i love it and so i always try to use the latest technology. now i'm using a whole variety of things. >> such as? >> i am using of course twitter. i think i was the first congressman to use twitter. i know i was the first to send a tweet from the oval office and then i actually started on twitter on may 28 of 2008. i went to lch with a friend in houston, eric oh grady, she is the one the got me launched on this. wunsch explained social mia all the lightbulbs went off my head and i realize this was a great way for people to communicate. >> your first experience with the idea for the concept? >> hate france who is a social media conductor who does a wonderful job of bringing this technology to businesses and individuals and she showed it to me and i jt let up.

she told me about facebook, about twitter and quick wit to the site that allows you to streamline video to web sites which i used very successfully and in fact i generally always carry my life qui camera so that when i got ambushed for example bybee, let me go in here and i will show you. i got ambushed one spy tmz and i was able to whip out, h pulled up the camera and he said i want to talk to you. and i said, that is great. why don't you let me see if you can see this, okay now i am streaming live to mike w.i.c. webpage. in fact, i will show you here goeth hugo prieger you can see it. there is the image. you can see that i'm transmitting live to mike wic web site pager brandau i am actually interviewing you now. >> okay. >> we are talking and this is broadcasting live on mike w.i.c. web si so when thes clowns from tmz thought theyere goin

to ambush a republican congressman i was able to whip out my like camera. i am packing heat so to speak. i was able to interview the cuy. aidid scott el little delay but it will transmit and kie i'm going to give this to you and you can actually lmus while we are concting this intervi. >> you carry that with you and use it rularly to ta to the folks at home about issues. what poncy to pull it out? what occasions you find that he will pull it out in need to record? what i will do is actually use it for an example page, the house republican revote to force nancy pesi to allow offshore drilling in the united states last summer when she adjourn the house and we were supposed to go home for the summer, i used my quick fitial camera to interview congress and keep the conversation going because we were talking to the gallery. traditionally we oy talked to people in the gallery if there are no cameras and microphones but because of the technology was able to use the quick camera to talk to my colleagues, let us

get the message out how important it was for is to be energy independent by drilling here in drilling now. >> as far as we can tell this has never been done before in something everne should keep an eye on. let's all speak of on behalf of the american people to say, have a plan. >> in fact c-span use my life video feed from? has said the coverage that c-span did that day of the house. i used it they are very successfully and it turned nancy pelosi around. shia loud offshore drilling until the election and as soon as they were the majority, then they were quite, immediately they reversed that. i also use did, when the house leadership attempted to stifle our ability to talk on the internet. they were going to adopt rules that said they would center everything that we set on the internetnd we could only use the preapproved web site. i send out a twitter alert said

on my twitter page, and launche electronic rebellion that led to the leadership reversing their position and we now have virtually unfettered access to the internet as the result of the social media network. >> let's talk about, what are the rules the structurally cover your ability to use twitter or something like at in the house? >> of course, may i show you? what we are talking about this, you are seeing a video of-- the cameras. i have, you can see mike quick web site here. this is an interviewer and the reason it is spending like that is because if i'm n given a good signal, it is a time delayed-maggte is a time delayed transmission, so i use the quick video to do for example live feeds. i also use, this is a recording of a telephone town hall meeting that i did las weekend i used

my video camera on top of the monetary and in in the embedded youstream video on my web site. my official web site, i have a and embedded ustream video where people c go to my web site and see me conduct the town hall meeting, ask me questions on text page using a chat room essentially. i will take questions using, i will also take questions using twitter. they can ask me questions on mike twitter webpage jen for example now, i am links of people know immediately i've been broadcasting live in if they were click on that embedded link in my twitter page, they will go straight to mike wic peyton they can actually see our interview once this thing allows-- so i use the social media to communicate on a regular basis, it's something interesting is happening which is generally every day i will use the quick camera to do interviews with my colleagues, talk about what is happening, as

in the case of the rebellion or opening of social media. i also use it to communicate with constituents on town hal meetings so they can talk to me both on the telephone at home, and they can talk to me g the chat room on t youstream and they can also pass me questions on twitter and it alws me to really use technology in a way that, it is just extraordinary. we are approaching a moment in history when we will have essentially real-time democracy where everyone in the country will be wired in and able to use these hand-held devices with live streaming video and such high-speed of blank speed that the public, the likes of which we will see and hear, my goal was total transparency. the public has a right to see come he and know everythifg their representatives are doing with their tax dollars and when they see that they won't stand for and i hope he will come in

is the this. i handed that to everybody i know. this information needs to get out, the liberal leadership the congress, as they are driving american to becoming argentina. the level of spending is some precedent, the level of taxes that i'm president it. and-- >> this is the kind of information you put out there your various sources? >> people will put up with that, once they understand that this bunch, nancy pelosi, reader driving the country to bankruptcy they won't stand for other beginning to understand that liberal leadership is about to p the government squarely between you and your doctor, and forbidden by the way to saying this is forbidden. i cannot say government-run health care. she has actually made it illegal for me to say-- >> when you say that what forum dieumene? >> here is a forbidden newsletter. i am actually forbidden, the ausley leadership said i cannot

quote barack obama, i cannot say under my plan of the cap-and-trade system electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket. i was forbidden from telling my constituents a quote from the president. i am forbidden to say the government-run health care. >> forbidden by the? >> nancy pelosi and a leadership. here is the e-mail that i got from my press secretary. i can't say all of these things because the leadership, it upsetshem. we can't tell the public, they don't want the public to read the bills. i have co-authored a bill to allow sedney to our layout before a bill. they don't want the public to read the bills, they don't want the public to know our unfettered opinion so they are censoring us as conservatives in the way the m4 said is they would charge me personally for of the postage and printing and i am not a rich guy. i am paying bills onto houses so it would stop my paycheck. >> you said when you found out

about this, you told the folks in the social media about what was going on? >> last night they live up. i sent out a series of tweets on my web site which i will show you that ask the twitter community and this is sam houston of course. i asked them, are you committed to the, the transparency? are you committed to, are you committed to liberalism or you committed to transparency and open debate and unfettered public access to information? i got a tremendous response. you can actually sees some of my, i was tweeting last night. >> this was on your web site? didion no pelosi forbids me from saying government-run health choir-- culberson by lease lands pelosi four censorship. i was talking about making sure we can read the bills. this would not be possible

before the electronic revolution. we would be unable to tell our constituents are voices are being stifled, that we are not allowed to say certain things. see actually shatsky of the floor. if i were to go to the floor and get into some of this they can actually, bajis say you are in violation of theules and they can take you o. >> before thate would have to send out some type of letter on your own personal stationery? >> exactly. if the house ranking committee says, you can't, i have to, they can charge me basically got my paycheck for the cost of postage and printing soyuz social media to get around it. dugan burd maida s.a.l.t readers send xerox maid is publishers but the internet has made us all journalists and made us all media moguls and a sense and the canal bypass some i can by test nancy pelosi and bypass the mainream media and go directly to the public whenever possible. >> this is your personal twitter

page? >> yeah, this is my campaign on here. this is strictly, this is strictly me in my capacity personally talking about what i amorking on, people can send me direct messages on here and i answer those directly. i don't do any campaigning on here. this is sort of, yeah, it is the official but it is also personal. obviously it is about-- common sense tells you you don't use official resources to raise money to ask people to vote for you. or to enrich yourself. that is just common sense but other than th we should be completely free. my argument to the house leadership is that my access to social media should be no differenthan my access to the new media, to the old mediacom excuse me. there is no difference and they can't center my conversation. they cant answer my interview with a newspaper reporter.

they can't sensor ght interview with the television reporter. deb no right to sensor might direct conversation with my constituents using the internet and we won that argument thanks to the social media. >> is a twilight zone. they would like to shout me down. please, please nancy pelosi try to stop me from using social media. i will sue her. i am a lawyer and i know this is a great first amendment case. with the ausley leadership tried to stifle me or stifle other conservatives from using social media i will sue her under the first amendmen and win. iysoo the federal judge in xas and one. this is a great force communiqué. >> you said they change the rules because of your actions last year and they open them up? >> there is a little bit of a gray zone. you need to use the official facebook page. i don't use it because i don't want them to tell me, it is still a grays on.

we have got freer access in the senate. you have to submit everything you write to the franklin committee. house members-- >> whenever you ite anything on social media? >> the senate is much more strictive to the emineth. we have much freer access, but this is a wonderful page come weakener actually track what people are saying about you but i am not using your name or conversations you have with people. youan show this conversation that you click on there. this allows you to see and linked together the entire conversation but my access here is illegibly as far as i can tell still largely unfettered, but there are, this sort of a gray zone. they could come in and tell me what to say and i'm waiting. if they ever do i will sue them and i will sue pelosi ender the first amendment. >> now that you have immediate feedback in some cases from

constituents what is that like as far as how you do you job because before you would send out a newsletter dew dome no key would get a response. what is the light now and does that make your job harder? >> no, it actually makes it easier. i am able to communicate using all these different communication media and then also using, i want to make sure i talk about facebook because i think facebook is the single most powerful tool, communication tool for us on the internet because this allows me for example, this is everybody sending me messages just this morning. this is just this morning so i am talking to constituents. these are people that are friends, about 1500 frien right now. they can send any message. when i send message on twitter or click i've got my facebook page set up so that immediately upte's, you will notice if i go to john culberson, the minute i turn on my quick camera jetsons the message that i am sitting on

quick life. dominik i used one social media tulip update's my twitter page, my facebook page. i asked people to send out the message to their lists and it is geometric so it is a powerful tool that makes me a better representative and helping me to for example people's me, i support obama's health care plan and i say i can tell you on twitter, we have got 92% of position at this point and about 8% in favor. it is a wonderful communication tool and i really am, i am convincethe only way the people will ever get control of our gernment is ken sisters social media because people won't stand for. when they see the level of spending and they can actually look in the room and stand here with this. they don't have to wait for c-span, the vacancy of life. >> what is the level of civility that someone can come behind a keyboard and doesn't have to talk to face to face?

>> people are polite. the social community also is a terrific enforcer of to a large extent common courtesy, certainly a fact checker. there is no better way to check your facts. social media will not tolerate falsehoods or duplicity or if you attempt t tell something that isnly half true, it is not going to stand. this is the greatest truth detector created in the history of humanity. my he wrote thomas jefferson said the place of ideas is the best place to hash out problems and all abuses he said should be trieat the bar of public opinion. social media community, when you pu something out tre they can richochet around immediately and they will go check you facts. >> what we are looking right now, is this your personal facebook page? >> this is my personal one that i use both four, i use for example, i am very committed to

the tenth amendment and lone star and these are loans stars won by texas soldiers rada history. they would wear them on their hats. i took a couple of my favorite hat stars them so this is something people will enjoy seeing. but i also combine official duties on here. but, i don't do any campaign work on it because this is again, i actually want to make sure everything i am doing is in good taste and try to use common sense, and so far it is then,t has been, a great experience and a great way to communicate and it is truly i am convinced the wake of the future. this will become exptedf all elected representative and i want toee what you are doing on facebook, i want to see you on twitter and using these different social media tools to talk to me. public is going to demand it and at that point we have control of the government again and there's nowhere to hide.

>> on the web site they are listed as the number one most conversational for good to other congressional legislators turn to you and s i want to get more into this, what do i need to do? do they seek your advice? >> yes, i am actively proselytizing among my colleagues to use this wonderful tool and there really nothing it. if i can figure it o, an old guy like me, there's nothing to a. it is a great way to communicate. that is what we do. i have encouraged people too it. it is as simple as clicking on the web page. twitter in particular is snap and there's nothing to linking your febook page to twitter. this stuff is all easy and very natural and once they get into it and understand it, it is a lot of fun. it is a real-time conversation. it was never possible before and the time really has come. right now and i represent a very highly educated district, people

are internet savvy and rapidly approaching the time where i will be able to go on line and talk to for example if i send a message and i've got 10,000 friends and i say i want you to send this to your friends and each one of them have to wanted, 500 friends, you can see very quickly. for example of nancy pelosi is doing something at ridges, say today at noon every but he kit nancy pelosi's office with a phonecall or e-ml and you can imagine 100,000 people, five and a thousand people. what the government, we can move heaven and earth for the wind american people understand the power of social media and everybody is simultaneously of their own free will asking their representatives to take action. there is not an elected official in the nation at could withstand that and it would literally we the people will take back our government onc these tools become readily available, once people understand how easy this is. >> you were on the forefront but

u think barack obama's campaign in victory brought more tention to the idea of ts? >> certainly was a great help that the obama campaign use the social media so aggressively. i think it's tragic they have reneged on every campaign promise they have made. the obama cpaign promise to be transparent. that is not happen. he promised he would never sign a bill that was not the internet for a least five hours. thatas false because every single piece of legislation nancy pelosi and the house leadership fcat has been drped on the house the night before. the public is never been given a chance to read it carefully and thoughtfully. the health care bill. where is thaty the way? the point is, the public has a right to read these bills and every single major piece of legislion w dropped in the middle of the night right before the vote at 11:00 p.m. for the spending bill and the stimulus bill was dropped a 11:00 p.m. and we voted the next day at 1:00. the cap-and-tax bill, there was

the printer page amendment jack that the last minute. the omnibuspending bill, all these major pieces of legislation. appomattox the good game but i've learned don't pay attenti to what he says. watch what he does because they are rapidly taking over the private sector, expanding government and and i'm president rate. we have an obligation as elected officials to insist on complete transparency, full involvement by the public, sedney to our layout, and open free and fair debate. let's debate these things out in the open. >> representative john culberson talking about technology, social media and how uses it in its day-to-day work as a congressman. thank you for being on "the communicators." >> representative cole berzon is one the cochairs the republin media caucus which hopes to educate other members on how to better use technology. it is not just republicans getting into the effort. in an upcoming program we will talk with representative steve israel a democrat from new york

about how he uses the media to reach out to constituents. that is it for now but don't forget you can see this program and others the web site at c-span.org.

the coming up next, booktv presents after words, an hourlong interview program where we invite guest hosto interview the author of a new book. th week from bookexpo america and new york city, joe scarborough and his book, "the last best hope" restoring conservatism and america's promise. the former republican congressman intern host of msnbc's "morning joe" presents s thoughts on the bush administration, the current state of the republican party and the obama presidency. joe scarborough discusses his book with peggy noonan combest for "the wall street journal." >> host: joe scarborough, anchor of the morning cable news show morning show on msnbc,

which you cohost with tnika brzezinski. you are a former congressman. you represent florida's first districtn the house from 1995 to 2001. you were elected in 1994, a member of that famous class that one republican control of the house for the first time in i think to generations. >> guest: it was a very long time. >>ost: 40, 50 years because before that you were a practicing attorney and i think the schoolteacher. you are a forme host of scarborough country. you have the radio show with mika monday through friday 10:00 to noon on a think w abc in new york. you have a new book out called the last best hope published by crown books. i think it is your second book. >> guest: it is. >> host: joe, how you encourage a cle show and dewall the prep, loath