and that's fine but he's got other things to do. >> you start with this idea you said who is barack obama? and much of his power and ferocious her critics can project what ever they want on to him and that you can -- he can be on every magazine cover and the president of the united states yet he still remains elusive. so i was curious first is he still elusive to you and second, what is it about him and about us that makes that so? ..

it is the other aspect that is so troubling to me, the notion that, he wasn't warned and we are still hearing this stuff from burgers. i have to say in my own book, i didn't say he was born on this day in this hospital, because verifiable fact by the birth certificate and to be obsessive beyond that after a while is to indulge the fantasies and craziness of this fever and it

is obviously not just limited to that. that said, obama clearly, because remember he was mainly a safe senator. he was a senator for five minutes before the question started coming, are you going to run for president? the experience question i thought was completely legitimate. how could it not be? when your biggest political battle was viewed dealing with rickey henderson in the state senate anywhere in the senate for a year and were making your first trip to russia, you know this is not an experience. so his story, his projection of his own story, his projection of his own family as a kind of metaphor for the country in the direction he was going and ethnically and diversity, you could see where that was driving the clinton campaign crazy, because they had been deep into politics and policy for so many years. they thought it was their turn. >> i have one last question and it will be brief. i thank you all for coming out

tonight and david i thank you for the time in the muscle that you put into this book. >> thank you. >> we are going to learn a lot about barack obama in reading this book but i think we also learned something about the country and this is my last question to you. and working on this project, what did you learn not just about president obama but what did you learn about america? >> it is either a very short answer or a very long one. you know, bsa, the novelist as well means the most not just to me but many people is ralph ellison. you would always hear these, these passages from him about african-american as being indivisible. i think there is no side on american life that makes that plain id. the story of obama's a ascents, whether you are a fan

of his politics or not, that the effect of his election and effective hillary's election if it had happened and god willing it would have been elected very soon and i hope a deeply qualified and wonderful one. [laughter] i didn't mean as as a shot against hillary at all. i mean out. this is an important moment in american history. it is not everything. it doesn't solve our problems in iraq and afghanistan and iran. it doesn't fix everything. it doesn't even fix everything about race, but it is enormously important if you care about americanness and what that means. >> david, thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you.

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> david remnick is the editor of "the new yorker" magazine. he was a reporter for "the washington post." mr. remnick is the author of "king of the world," about mohamed ali and linens tim, the last days of the soviet empire. for more information, visit new

yorker.com. >> from the 2010 los angeles times festival of books, author and talk show host tammy bruce discusses her books books and takes the tv viewer phonecalls. the program is in our. >> joining us here on our steps from outside of haines hall on the campus of ucla is radio talk show host author, tammy bruce. tammy bruce have you ever been invited to do the "l.a. times" festival of books? >> interestingly no. i am a local. might books have done well and i've never been invited to be on a panel or. >> why do you think that is? >> it is par for course. with the president of los angeles through the '90s for the most part and i think that when there is a transition like i have made in this city, which is very liberal, you tend to become like an apostate if you will, but it is important i think as an author of course

that there are a lot of venues in which we can talk about her books, but i have been here anyway, courtesy of c-span, also to see the festival. at one point introduced dr. loris questioned her for her speech. so it is something i take in stride. it is not surprising, but maybe that will change someday. >> dr. laura is a friend of yours. she do the forward to your book, the thought police. >> she did, interestingly. in my transition from being a liberal effectively to an independent conservative that was her experience that, when she was under attack at what i call the gate stuff but which is that she had something, had an idea or in her instance conveying a position of the catholic church, for which he not only came under fire but there was a project to effectively destroy her career for having set the wrong thing. and that was really the-- certainly we see it today still

happening with effectively some member choosing estoppel is that it was important for me as a liberal at that point and certainly as a classical liberal to address that issue because that is not what i think any of us have in mind when it comes to the issues of discussing ideas and broaching difficult issues. i found it really the emergence of "the new thought police" and hence my first book. >> what is "the new american revolution" about? >> my last book. interesting ate a little bit more ahead of the curb-- curve than i realized it would be. it was about the message of the second george w. bush victory. john kerry had spent 100 and in more dollars than george w. bush in the 2004 election and it struck me at the time, as i realize now, a generally inclusive framework over the years certainly after that, that the american people were not willing to accept business as usual. what i think is that george bush would use such a dramatically

bad job in the last half a second term, that that friend-- trend would continue manifesting in what unfortunately was the obama victory as well. so, americans, i think we have seen since 2004 have been saying do you know what? we are tired of business as usual. the election of bush signify that in the middle of the war and then the election of obama signified it and now what i think the american people are saying is that neither hardy has been honest with them. neither party has had the nations best interest and blind in this third step is the tea party movement i think. this remarkable shift we are saying politically right now. >> we will get into the tea party in just a minute but you said you think george w. bush did a remarkably bad job in the second half. why do you think that was? >> i think he stopped listening to dick cheney and started listening to other people but presidents when they get to the end of the last term began to think of legacies.

i think george w. bush is a decent man and i think as many of these people do, they truly think that some people just simply need to be won over. the truth of the matter is historically we have seen some people can't be. he didn't want to win over sanofi and you couldn't win over the fascist or the japanese. when george bush shifted into that framework, look we also had eight years of the constant pounding on him for the, i think perfect response after september 11. i think his strategy of taking iraq and afghanistan and sandwiching iran was brilliant. that he really effectively dropped the ball i i think in the last 18 months of his administration, which is why are we are still in afghanistan. at it is why for some reason the three stooges of the middle east, bin laden, the one i'd shake and-- are still wandering around. there should be victory in a war, as opposed to management,

and unfortunately, i think and i have a lot of respect for george bush for his response immediately after september 11, but you do see that shifting, and i think vice vice president cheney addresses it a bit in his book, the nature when they stop talking to them. it was unfortunate and all of these things we see now were shifted into certainly a different attitude politically. >> again, welcome to booktv's live coverage of of the los angeles times festival of books. one of the advantages of being out here is the chance to talk with california-based authors and tammy bruce is her first guest this morning. if you would like to participate in the call-in program we will put the numbers on the screen. (202)585-3885 for those of you in the east and since our timezones and 585-3886 at the

lip of the mountain and pacific timezones. you can also send a tweet at twitter.com/booktv. that is our twitter address. if you will send them a little bit early so we can get them we will have a chance to read them and let tammy bruce respond to them. we are here on the campus of ucla. tammy bruce is another book she has written is called "the death of right and wrong." what is this one about? >> not that i have an opinion, right? it is about the moral relativism. this notion that everything is the same, all ideas are equal, all cultures are equal. we don't have the right to have judgment. to come to conclusions. and we certainly see socially the damage of that. i think part of that has been affecting how we have been prosecuting the war. the truth of the matter is that this moral relativism which is fed by the left in which i've participated in to some degree quite some time ago when i was on the left is this notion that if you can get people to believe that everything is equal and you are to not come to judgment than that means that opinions are bad as well.

opinion smarmily shipped in a lot of your viewers right now and listeners are coming to some opinions about what i'm saying whether they agree or disagree. that means that there is a notion of right or wrong or whether something is correct, and opinions are imperative, but if society says he will be punished for coming to judgment, than the messages that you shouldn't even think about those issues and that opinions are dangerous. that is what the far left requires because as you begin to look critically at what people are doing, you will defend. we frt heard in the last couple of months white house officials including the national security adviser to president obama referred to "usa today" editorial, those who are helping al qaeda. so now we are effectively terrorist sympathizers because we might not like politically what the president is doing. even george bush didn't go that far. i understand politics and the attempt to maneuver your

positions, but what the american people have been subject to on both sides of the aisle has created a dynamic of finally, i have seen in my third book, "the new american revolution," americans can stand up and say enough is enough. and i'm finally seeing it and it is thrilling. >> tammy bruce for those viewers who may not be familiar with you, a quick snapshot of your politics and your career. >> well, i started in the late '80s as a pro-choice activist. >> where did you grow up? >> here, native los angeles. >> of a pro-choice activist. >> a pro-choice activist here in my hometown in the late '80s. a group called operation rescue was attacking women's clinics in the united states. i found that inherently unfair. i began the chapter 1990. we found the national-- and

began a talk radio career also in that time. back in 1993. and started "the new thought police" in 2001 and it actually came out in october of 2001. there was some debate whether not to release it because of the attacks on september 11 because we were just about one month out or could i said to my publisher, this is going to be more important than ever because these are issues we are going to need to discuss inevitably people are going to start suggesting we not which spurred of course my second book, "the death of right and wrong" a year and a half later. but yeah, talk radio up until now, now at the national organization for women in 1987. h did you get though from now to being a author? >> it was really a fight within the national organization for women during the o.j. simpson trial out here. i saw that i think is most

americans did, and it certainly isn't the importance of violence. it was an issue that has been really ignored because it wasn't sexy. it was difficult sometimes to find for the press, the victim sympathetic, so we finally had attention. and it started to move that it was an issue of race, which of f course is obscene, and was an insult to every woman who faces this of all races and ethnicities. so that became an internal fried and i realized something had happened, that when i was being asked by the national office to retreat on that issue, that the issues of race were more important, you know there are a lot of organizations that deal with race in the country and that is an important issue, but my job was dealing with issues of women. all women that fit within that envelope. that was a wake-up call in addition to the attack on laura

schlesinger. i noticed an interesting trend to this demand for surrender and retreat, a demand in general socially for people not to speak of. on my issues, look, i think dealing with violence against women is nonpartisan. i was always a little bit of a thorn in the side because my policies were i felt we should organize ourselves. another click for me was when i was told by my mentor now that it was important to rub salt into the wound so that we would always be needed. that wasn't my method or comb my method was success. , so i realized i could do more on the issues that matter to me by being outside of the organization, that i could be freer to speak my mind and that certainly ended up being the case. >> when did you become friends with dr. laura? >> we worked at the same radio station in los angeles for a period of time in the early '90s and we weren't necessarily friends. i can tell you that right now.

we said interesting things about each other on the air, but that is again i think part and parcel, having an opinion, radio talk show host do, and it was after i had left that station actually that i saw in this instance was the and alliance was doing. being a woman myself i felt i was outrageous. i certainly don't agree with a lot of what she says, but i found that the attempt to silence her, to get her fired and stop her career because she said something wrong, according to the left, was quite at seem because that is what we have been fighting against sense really the onset of the civil rights movement. >> tammy bruce's our guest. tammy bruce.com is her web site. you have learned a little bit about her now let's take some calls. chagrin falls, ohio, good afternoon to you. you were on with tammy bruce. >> thank you. good afternoon and thank you for

c-span. ms. bruce i would just like to address, i've been a bookstore manager for 20 years and i have seen tons of books come out on a political correctness and the way culture is being deteriorated in this way. you mentioned doris lessing sir. is she still employed with fox news? i didn't see the same indignation when-- were marginalized. the same with a tea party. there seems to be an attempt to address deficits specifically, yet deficits were incurred during the bush administration. i didn't see any tea party movements than. >> and i think i mentioned this in the beginning, laura does still work specifically because we push back on the attacks on her. and i am happy about that. when it comes to the tea party, as i mentioned earlier, i think the reaction to george bush was the election of barack obama. barack obama was elected because

he was not george w. bush. now what i think the tea party movement is and it is a brand-new framework. these are stakeholders that have never come out before. they notice something shifting with bush and we believe that things will always be okay, and there is suddenly a sense that maybe it wouldn't be a maybe the other party would reverse a certain issue. when we have seen that in fact, barack obama is doing what george bush was doing but on steroids. there is a relation of monks stakeholders that something needs to be done so what you are seeing is definitely a continuum of the reaction, and i don't think it is going to stop for quite some time yet laura does work in that again is because the gestapo's were answered. there was a push back. again, i think the community in particular, and having to answer a supporter of hers on the issue of free speech from another woman was difficult for them to respond to. and i think that organization

change a little bit since then. with the dixie chicks, they had a heck of a lot of support. but that is the wonderful i think also about the increase of the use of the internet. now we are looking through this, you know you mentioned twitter. there is facebook or go there are a lot of different ways to organize that are giving all factions of america, all political points of view i think much more of a bigger exposure in.if you. >> in fact you are were a big twitterer. >> yes. i had to be pushed into it. i thought that it would be another thing that will consume time. and in fact it can be whatever you wanted to be. i remember organizing on the left in the 80's and 90s, what we could have done with cell phones. i was using a cell phone that was a brick. what what we could've done with the internet and e-mail and twitter would have been phenomenal, and we are seeing

the results of that when it comes to both left and right wing organizers. conservatives now are learning to do it and want to do it or go they are realizing that organizing is a good thing. they have seen it on the left and it works. it should be an american value. and i think we are finally seeing that manifest. >> people want to follow your twitter? >> i am at tammy bruce. >> octavia, illinois you are on with tammy bruce. please go ahead. >> hi tammy. i want to ask you a foreign-policy question. as you know obama has been very harsh on our allies, especially israel and to some extent britain. but at the same time, he has been silent when it comes to iran and to the dallas denny and violence. can you explain what is going on with obama and why he is trying to rearrange american foreign-policy and favorite

seems like ofnly come to my own conclusions knowing the left, and also believing what iraq obama was saying. i have cautioned and urge conservatives for a long time to believe what the left says. before the campaign and during it actually barack obama said he was going to disarm them. progressive says they are turned have felt that american power and influence is a problem in the world. it is a mistaken impression. but i do believe it is a combination. a lot of my book deals with psychology. the nature of why we do what we do. interest me because i've been compelled to find out why i do what i've done on the left in transition and one thing we found is that what affects us personally translates into our work. i feel, and i think it is obvious and i have said this publicly, barack obama has a benevolence for the country itself. i think it is a reflection perhaps of what his parents felt about the nation and his mother

certainly stated publicly to some degree, at least it is apparent apparent in interviews that she was not a big fan of the united states. i think her son reflects the attitude. the left does feel that the united states has been wrong. we have heard that chance for over a decade now. so it is not surprising to see a president on the left who is asking in order to reverse-- to deconstruct american exceptionalism. now of course americans see it differently and is barack obama expressed, whether we like being a superpower or not, there has been messages that in fact we do like it, and that the rest of the world exist now because of our approach and because of american power and exceptionalism. we are not ready to give that up. nor what do we believe that we are the issuer the problem. and i think it is also perhaps an easier task to take. when you see perhaps an overwhelming problem, and i saw

this on the left. is sometimes turned inward because that is something you believe believe you can control. so if you feel that the problems we have are so extraordinary that we can do nothing about them, some level of cannibalism starts. and this is why the founders, the genius of the founders giving us staggered elections so that we will turn to the ballot box and not the-- and we will turn to protest and organizing the brilliance of the bill of rights and the constitution, freedom of the press, being able to have this conversation. we will step up against this. but most of us want to change. i warned not all change is good. and now i think that especially with israel, israel and the jewish people have always been the canary in the mine shaft. once again, the gift in the curse being the chosen people. as civilization exist because of

the contribution of the jewish community through millennia. they have survived abandonment and attack and attempted extermination. israel stands now is the example of what civilization is capable of doing, both good and bad. you can have people who are-- we see as a result of the enemies are in civilization based on who is attacking the jewish but suicide bombing and terrorism was happening to israel 20 years ago. it was a precursor. now, of course it is an example for americans about what the left really stands for, what liberals really stand for, our obligation to the jewish people and israel, which i feel is extraordinary, and we have a chance to reverse that. i look forward to being able to do that along with a few million other americans in november. >> being here in california, do you ever feel isolated from national politics are left out? >> you know what is an

interesting. anyway yes of course but at the same time california is state petri dish. the east coast also doesn't look at anything-- and they think california. interestingly though what happens here does tend-- we gave the nation ronald reagan and we saw the economic problems manifest in california early and we saw the problems with liberal governance when spending when he don't have money and that could've served as a warning very early on. so here in california we know we set trends. washington tends to not notice that. i think they may start to. but as a native, you get used to the fact that this is, it is a beautiful city, it is a beautiful town. los angeles as a sanctuary city. we are in such an economic rubble right now that the mayor is having to shut the city down two days a week. you know it is no way to run a business. it is no way to run a country,

no way to run a city and americans are seeing what certain things lead you to. as writers, we arias told the want to show the reader something. you don't want to tell them. well, liberals are showing americans all over the place what they really mean and americans aren't liking it. at. >> the next golfer tammy bruce comes from minneapolis. you are on the air. >> hello ms. bruce and how are you doing today? >> i am good, thanks. >> i have seen you before and booktv ms. bruce and i didn't realize that your politics had swung as far i guess to the right and you describe yourself as a classical liberal, which i am an independent. i thought you had more than libertarian streak in you from previous appearances some years ago, when i had seen you on booktv. and i find it a shame that you wouldn't be a panelist on the book program itself.

you have answered actually a lot of the questions i had for you, which is how did you progress from the left, which i had seen you before kind of more as a libertarian, to the right where you are at now. and if you could speak more to that, that would be great, but one or two specific issues that have, busy and made the case for our association with israel, and i don't think it gets asked a lot, which is, why does the united states have, apart from the moral component, a relationship with israel? why does it make any sense for us to have a stronger relationship with that country than any other in the middle east? i know they are a democracy etc., but that was one thing and the other thing that hasn't come up so far today is the immigration issue. you were talking about the status of the sanctuary city,

which is an idea that is beyond comprehension to me, and the arizona anti-immigration bill or whatever they want to term it as. if you could speak to that i would greatly appreciate it. >> we have got a lot to work with their. thank so much. >> actually i think the idea of independent conservatism is what is taking hold and certainly i am pro-choice. i am a feminist and a woman. a lot of conservatives within the religious framework of politics would not consider me a conservative, but i do think that there is a, and this is what you see in a tea party also, is an authentic criticism based in an economic base. >> i just want to ask, are you a member of the tea party? >> you are not really a member. i am a massive supporter. i've been to them, i've spoken at them and i think they are exactly what this nation says so i guess if you want to say i am a member, yes.

>> i'm sorry for interrupting you. >> you can sign petitions but you are not really a member. i love it, i love it. that is really the independent conservative framework. you can be of democrat, you can be a republican, you can be a libertarian. you are standing at these tea parties, pro-choicers, republicans and democrats because we all realize the issues that matter to us don't really matter unless we have a home to go to any paycheck coming in and we have a little bit of a sense that we have saved enough for the future and we know what the government is going to do and we don't have to worry about nuclear fallout for ourselves or for jerusalem. some of these issues you get right down to brass tacks about your business and about whether or not we are going to become a welfare state. that is unacceptable to americans so you can save clap-- classical liberalism as in john f. kennedy or independent conservative, which is realizing the parties really don't matter and both of them are out of

control. where is the sovereign going? where is the american citizen stakeholder? what is it that we realize it's in our best interests which has never changed, which is what you see people more and more people, identified as independents. you see barack obama approval numbers going down. you see the republican party approval numbers going down. americans are not going to wait anymore for politicians to do what is right, and i think this has been quite frankly beneficial, is the understanding-- my heart was broke and in 2008 because they knew what barack will obama was going to do because i know the less. i thought our minds excited overtaken us to the point of being unreasonable, not that that is ever happened to any individual, but now what i am saying, it reminds me why america is so unique and exceptional. that we will be romantics, we will give the underdogs a chance, but if you don't think

about destroying this nation i think the constitution is obsolete or think that certain, that the european way is the best way, europe exist because we are not them, and because we are exceptional and the average american, the business owner, the stakeholder, knows what is important for their families future and for israel. when it comes to not only this nation and the importance of america remaining strong, is the compelling aspect that this is pretty serious to say the least idea to not dismiss the idea that israel up into our change in the above was the only democracy in that region. it is also the only country that allows women to live lives that best suit them. it is an entity that shows and exhibits the issue of human and civil rights through the democratic process. it is a nation and the jewish people serve through the

millennia. i am italian and scotch-irish and i don't think we have been chosen for anything. so when you look at the quality of our lives, we not only have an obligation to support israel and the jewish people, but it is that country decides that serves as a reminder shoot that entire region about what is wrong with despotism, what is wrong with fear of world wahhabist suppression, the nature of problems with terrorism and it really is when it comes to supporting friends, why we support england and we supported europe and why they support israel. it is because they do represent freedom and what is right, and a moral obligation, the political obligation and because i think it is what god wants, and i don't identify as a christian, but it is real tough to deny that we are tested quite often.

the fact that we owe the quality of our lives to jewish innovation, to education, to the creation of western civilization is enough in my book to stand up for israel and the jewish people. >> we are alive with tammy bruce at the los angeles times festival of books on the campus of ucla 202 with the area code, 585-3885 for those of you in the eastern eastern and central timezones 585-3886 for the mountain and pacific timezones. >> can i correct something? escutcheon irish i think were chosen to fight so i don't want to get any of my brethren out there upset. >> okay. we have a tweet now. did you want to address immigration-- immigration issue? >> when you have got john mccain channeling tom tancredo, you know something is change. the fact of the matter is with the murder of-- in arizona, with

the fact that phoenix has become the kidnapping capital of the united states, you have ms-13 as a murderous machete wielding gang throughout the united states now. you have hamas and pensacola influencing and funding ms-13 as they move through the united states. the drug trafficking, the crime, the murder. when you are staff is breaking this law and when we don't enforce our laws and look away from you, there is a kind of contempt that builds. i think with the economy, with the nature of realizing that things will not get better under the current circumstances, the answer is not amnesty. is not rewarding people who have been here who have insulted those who have followed the rules or who have served this nation. youth services country and i want you to become a citizen. it is an insult to all of those who have waited and who have served to become citizens and i think there is an understanding that do you know what? in order for america to still be the beacon that everyone comes

to, we allow more people legally to come into this nation than every other country on earth combined, they think in order to keep this nation worthy of coming to come it is time for that southern border. los angeles is showing economically that you cannot sustain a welfare state for millions of foreigners. you can't. we have fought and died to liberate hundreds of millions of people who have-- who aren't americans, 53 million just in the war on terror to liberate. 60% of those women and children so we are willing to live and die, to give our lives for other people. i wanted to survive and be strong enough so we are here for people to come. >> we have a tweet here for you from savanna. have you ever considered writing a book focused on modern feminism or the lgbt movement? >> all of my books, certainly the first one goes through my

experience with the national organization for women. the problem is with modern feminism is that it can institutionalize an organization that is leftist. modern feminism is not a leftist notion. it is an american notion. it is the ideal that all of the should be able to live the lives that suit us. so writing a book on the modern feminist movement would almost have to address, if there is one, would almost be an american history sort of effort. if you see at ranging from the suffrage movement and certainly to the beginning of the modern feminist institutionalize movement, but even betty friedan in her last book noted that in fact she wasn't just a tired housewife, that she was a member of the american communist party and decided to move things in that fashion. and i think that a lot of history has been misrepresented

by certain left-wing institutions, and i write about that both in the thought police and "the death of right and wrong." again, as part of my conservatism, by finding out in the history and political science that the things i believe in are inherently american. that it is not about having a hermetically sealed cultural separation. that i owe my life and my point of view and that i can speak this way without a brick wall falling down on me as would be happening right now if we were in saudi arabia. that i wouldn't be hanging from a crane as they do in the in iran. that in fact it is the american values that allows me to live the life that i live and i like living it and i think it is important for me and what i say to be out, to be a feminist and to be a conservative. because it is not the feminist movement that has made our lives great.

it is the action of our founding fathers and mothers, and the way the american people have handled threats from the beginning of this nation to this one. and if i just may add, i was at an event for lieutenant colonel allen west for the 22nd district, a war hero, a remarkable man, a man who pretty much exemplifies what the velvet revolution as we are having. people they are there though were saying we are not sure if we are going to get out of this. we have got out out of every other thing that has come our way. we have tried to avoid things. we try to retreat from them. we try to live our lives. that is kind of what americans have always done. our founding was in retreating from the old world and getting away from it. the bottom line is of course we will be fine. we always have been. american heroes do exist, and they manifest and we need them. that is why now is a feminist, it is based in americanism that

i think is what is at the heart of all things that are good for good. >> is that a book idea? >> well, i think right now, the best thing and what i tried to do with my writing is use my experiences on the left to illustrate what is going on culturally. i think perhaps it is not a bad idea. i do think organizing is important, as i've been telling my listeners and readers. it is imperative to get something done and i think they are realizing it now and seeing it through the tea party movement. i think it is an important aspect to realize that the left a strategy of organizing is good, but the notion of women's rights, making peoples lives better, people of color, the quality of children's lives is an inherently american notion. it is an american notion, and i think that is what certain

sections of the left try to claim those things, and americans in general feel as though some separate effort. no it is not. those things have been co-opted. american lives have been lost, tens of millions of them in the effort to free african-americans from slavery. men in congress have voted for suffrage. they gave us the right to vote. the elite in this country, the privileged have given up their rights. men have voted to give up their rights in order to further the quality of life for others. this is the only nation that does that and yes i think that perhaps it is important to recognize that difference, and if i could try to formulate it, that might be a good thing too can be. >> before we got started you told me her recent book idea which is? >> i'm working on the it died -- my idea of the emerging to stop us. we see a natural progression

that when the left finds that persuasion and intimidation doesn't work, and it is not what the american people, the name-calling. it was my first book in 2001, the thought police do with it and now of course in 2010 average and americans are finding that they are being called tea partiers terrorist and brownshirts the mob in wife beaters. steny hoyer interestingly enough apologized, saying it was wrong of them to call the tea party participants on american. i think they realize this must be addressed, but it is too late when you are willing to call the american citizenry a variety of names to get them to be quiet when that is the heart and soul of what this nation stands for and i think that you know, for that movement, when it comes to organizing, it is important and we are seeing when it comes to the gestapo, separate entities

outside of government, using certain kinds of strategies to silence and intimidate, and i think that it is for all americans unacceptable. we had the first chance in history to stop a fascist gestapo movement, an attempt to silence opposition before it gets a real foothold. and i think that is what the november election is all about. >> walla walla washington, you are on with tammy bruce on both tv. >> hey tammy, rube a peer. >> hi there. this is a twitter follower, so there you go. >> thanks for calling. it is nice to hear from you. >> what do you think of your community of followers, at tammy bruce.com? are we just a bunch of groupthink or is? >> what is interesting and thanks and not that i would have planned this. what is manifested at my web site, and it is prescription base, i moved away from the

terrestrial radio framework to become completely independent because i got tired of having to be answerable to people who were somewhat afraid. as an example, i would play the theme from shaft while the economy started going south. we were asked not to do that because it might be perceived as being racist. go figure. when it came down to music, to think that i would say, i became troubled by the notion of self-censorship which i began to apply and buy the request that i sense her. so i went independent or commando as they call it, and the people around the country and around the world actually who are subscribing to what i do and it is also on the internet for free and we are the number one program in that framework, are the tammy army members. not that i have an ego that i need an army, but i think that i do. it is heartening because it is such an expansive piece. it is the kind of variety that

you know america truly represents. and for me, all of us who are in the public eye on political or controversial issues, it does become increasingly difficult when it comes to issues of threats, when it comes to the request for censorship, when it comes to the general public. you really have you really effectively than what you are doing and they think that part of this is growing up, the tea party movement, internet-based forums and communities, is because everyone is now feeling pressure. at work or at school, on the street, with your friends, and i think that finally americans, not liking the direction so i am really thrilled that people especially in this economy are willing to support what i am doing, and at the same time it is i think very necessary and gives people-- we haven't seen any of this before really.

and people begin to wonder what is going to happen. and i think having communities of other americans make you feel that you are not alone and remind you that you are not alone and i think that is quite a challenge so i am quite honored. >> self described as america's favorite openly pro-choice, pro-death penalty gun owning voting for reagan feminist. tammy bruce is our guess. los angeles, good morning. >> actually the popular democratic people of west hollywood. god bless c-span. tammy tell us about the great benefits of gun control. >> well, if you are a criminal and you would like an open field for robbing houses and taking advantage of people it is a terrific boon. you know as washington d.c. is the capital murder town, of course now that is changing. in fact, according to the second payment as a firearm owner i

know that is the nation does, that when you are armed, the bad guys of course are a little bit more at risk and they will not know what freedom they have. clearly, moving out of facetiousness, there is no benefits. we have seen a worldwide, gun controlling keeping firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens increases crime, increases the murder rate. the fact is you know, murder is also illegal and people still do it with guns. if you are inclined to commit crime, the rules that exist about the tool you are going to use, don't matter either. the truth of the matter is, our founders knew this that having a firearm by your side was something that not only kept you safe, but it reminded you of your individual responsibility and power. the germans and the japanese knew that if they wanted to end world war ii that they could not occupy the united states. they knew because we were armed

been too. no one was going to be marching down wilshire boulevard and it is the same position for any federal government that might feel as though the people are getting a little too uppity. the national guard or the army is not going to march down any american street because we are a different kind of people. we also know that in china tiananmen square would not have happened if china did not have gun control. those people were unarmed. so, there is a great deal in the death of right and wrong and the new revolution especially about the importance of firearm ownership and even if you are not comfortable with guns supporting the notion so that people like me, who i am comfortable with firearms, that we will maintain that legitimacy. every fascist effort to take over our nation has to start with the disarming of individuals. in fact, it england just found out that trying to disarm and effectively doing so, disarming english people, the murder rate

had climbed. canada is in the same position. they are overwhelmed with that framework because the canadians are unarmed, and yet somehow murders are still occurring and at a higher rate. so, we know that it is a matter of keeping the crime down. as a woman, it is the ultimate equalizer. if you are close enough to the bed where i can hit you with a bat, you are too close. i want an equal framework that i'm going to stop you before you get that close. and if you come into my home, there is a picture of me on my web site with mike guns, my 38 special. if you were in my home uninvited , meaning harm, you might need me standing up and for me it reminds me of my responsibility and my individual personal power, and it is an imperative part of american freedom. so joining the nra or your local

gun group, even if you don't own a firearm, it is an important freedom of expression. there was so much evidence that crime increases and murdering creases when there is gun control and yet people still push for it. you have to ask why. and i think it is more of a matter of controlling the population governmentally than any concerns regarding crime. >> did snuffy join us on the set today? >> no, stuff he is homebound. i don't have a carry permit. it is very difficult in los angeles. it is interesting and yet i did carry her during-- thought i would take my chances. at the same time, snuffy of course is quietly at home. that doesn't have to be said very often, but it is an interesting kind of juxtaposition here where you have a sanctuary city where it is a welfare state for foreigners effectively and crime

with gangs and is really out of control and yet of course you are law-abiding citizen and you should be protecting yourself. extraordinary limits are placed on you. part of that if i may say including the idea of gun control is really meant to send an overall message, that as citizens, you really can't be trusted. you can trust yourself or go situations are too complex for you to understand. someone has got to take care of you and make your choices for you. if we buy into that, we will say yes more and more often when we shouldn't. i think there is that psychological component that, if you have to ask for permission or denied permission or your gun is taken away, we saw happen in new orleans after katrina. law enforcement sweeping durrant confiscating without any notice illegally firearms. it is a message that people can be trusted. and that is the message that is unacceptable to us and in impact if something can't be trusted it

is the government. our founders wanted us to look funny at the government. they wanted restrictions. they knew what government could do either as a monarchy or any other framework and they want wanted the american people-- the american people to be this bulwark against what they naturally saw his power and the problems associated with it. speech on data sent in a tree, tammy bruce tried to claim she speaks for the average american. six-figure salary and on tv, so not average. >> well, six-figure salary, that would be nice. i think a small business owner, when you are looking at a lot of americans, this is why the argument about who was wealthy is amusing to me. couples who are making six figures, which is nothing to be ashamed of if you do, it's usually because you own a business and you are filing as

an individual as opposed to a corporation. also when you are looking at who puts the money to the economy, the average american depending on whether you live in new york or los angeles you are going to have to make more money in order to survive. but i think all of us have experienced a shift in that regard. i want the average american, and most of us do depending on where we live, are able to make the choices we want to make financially, and being on television -- that the last time i checked i think almost everybody was on television at this point in life. i will not dismiss though the fact that i am privileged and that i am very lucky, and honored, that i've had certain opportunities. but it is because of the choices i have made. as an american, we are all able to make choices, and we all find our level. i love the fact that there are some people on television more than me, that some people make more than me. i want to make more.

i want americans to be successful. money as i have said over and over again, especially for women and minorities, and it is the core of the conservative ideals, if you have enough money you are free to make the choices you want to make her go if someone is sending you a check whether it is an ex-husband or the government, you are answerable to them. they are going to be able to tell you what you can need and where you are going to live in what school you were going to send your kids do and what kind of job you are going to have to get. being free financially allows you to make all kinds of choices , private schools, where you want to eat, where you want to live, what part of the country. to deny the importance of capitalism and financial success-- i'm not talking about becoming a millionaire but successful enough to where you are free to move if you want, free to be bnr out of a relationship.

how many people are in a relationship because they think it is financially easier to do so? you want to be where you live and in a relationship because you choose to be. i think that while we are all at different points in the road on the way to the american dream, i think to suggest that someone is not an american or doesn't speak to those values because they may be at a certain point in the road different than others is cynical and i think unfortunate. >> sue mcallister tweets in and she describes herself as someone not ready to retire from the central valley of california. is california's leading the nation in trends, then does that mean republicans will be irrelevant's nationwide instead of just in california? >> you know i was on the arnold's fortune maker transition team and we all have a lot of hope for mr. schwarzenegger and what we didn't take into account what would happen to you if you-- with the kennedy every night.

we became disillusioned quite quickly. the truth is i think that the parties are irrelevant. i think that is already happen. people now are voting based on a candidate and an individual framework. i think we will find more conservatives ultimately within the republican party. i think now that that is happenstance because of the reagan legacy. but i do think that they are irrelevant and they think that, as americans both democrats-- i am declined to state at this point i have been a democrat since february but wait but since americans are going to be voting in november, democrats as they did in massachusetts start to vote based on their situation, and a candidate versus, he is a democrat or she is a democrat so that will be just fine, people are finding out that is not the case anymore in the same with republicans. you can't presume that a republican is a conservative or that a republican holds your values. george w. bush was a liberal.

he started the slide into nationalized health care with his medicare prescription drug program, opening the door for that. he spent more money creating a bigger government than johnson's great society which also fail. those are not conservative values, and when you talk about this, you can talk all you want. americans now want the truth. we want the values that have helped our lives become good to manifest. republicans have destroyed that. they started it so of course barack obama is next. he is exactly the same-- and americans now realize way, it isn't about parties. who are these people? that is the question. who are these people and that is the question to ask when it comes your candid. >> this is live coverage of the los angeles times festival of books. tammy bruce is our guess. we have another 15 minutes before her first off the panel starts. greenwich, new jersey you have been very patient. you are on the air.

>> high new jersey. >> he is watching the tv. >> greenwich we are trying to try to put you on hold. please turn down your volume. >> varied as. >> please go ahead. >> high tammy. >> hide their. >> the reason i'm calling-- the reason i am calling is i have watched you for a while and i know you have got a perspective from the left and you have got obviously you have got a perspective from the right. so you would have got a perspective that comes from both sides of the spectrum. the reason i'm calling is-- may sound a little weird. you were on c-span, which is great but i think we out here need a voice like yours on a national basis. you obviously have a radio program bute