attention here today. thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] .. .. >> mexico's drug wars at 6.

sunday panels continue starting at 1 eastern with the environment, the great depression at 2:30, the american west at 4, and at 5:30, studying the brain. and throughout the weekend look for coverage streaming live on booktv.org today beginning at noon eastern and sunday starting at 2:30. the tucson festival of books live this weekend on c-span2 and booktv.org. >> booktv attended a book party for the publication of "shooting from the lip: the life of senator al simpson," written by his former chief of staff, donald hard key. among those -- hardy. this is about 45 minutes.

[inaudible conversations] >> well, have you -- >> we're coming to you. >> i can't believe it. what are you doing here? >> well, we're here to celebrate your book. ann, hi. >> you're very dear to do this. it's not my book. it's the most heartbreaking -- you met don, the author -- >> you could still write one. >> oh, man, took him six years. [inaudible conversations] >> senator, how are you doing? >> jimmy. >> how are you?

>> i haven't got my good shoes on, but i'm here. there was a big delay. [inaudible conversations] anyway, you're dear to do this. >> you look great. >> they picked up a little extra down there, could we get our 20%? [inaudible conversations] >> has my wife arrived yet? >> don't believe so. [inaudible conversations] >> can i say hi? my name is don hardy. >> he's the author of the book. >> oh, wonderful. so modest. >> oh, here you go.

[laughter] >> hi! >> what has it got to be, about eight volumes? [laughter] >> i'm so glad. >> you didn't object to that, did you? >> i didn't get any money. >> you know ann, annie? ginni, you know ginni, gi, this ni thomas -- ginni thomas, clarence. you know jim billington, of course. jim? jimmy? be -- jimmy, clarence thomas. how dear of you -- [inaudible conversations] >> oh, elizabeth, you dare to come? how dear of you to come. >> bless you.

>> and bob would be here -- [inaudible conversations] >> anyway, we love your christmas card. you didn't have to do that to wyoming -- >> well, you know, we were, we made it to deadwood. >> did you go to that wyoming game at laramie? >> no, no. did you go over? >> i didn't get town -- down either? what are we doing? [inaudible conversations] okay, here we go. my god, call the cops. this is bizarre. oh, amy.

[inaudible conversations] oh, bill, you ornery old senator. you're the doctor, aren't you? [inaudible conversations] >> how are you? you don't look a day older. >> god help me, but i'm 80. have you seen annie? >> that's what david said to me -- >> did you heal up completely from the propeller -- you don't know norm. >> i do, i just said hi to norm. we met as 12-year-old boys at the japanese detention center, he was behind barbed wire. >> i know. >> he'll never forget when he took me to the -- >> that was fun. we were, we were definitely the hit. >> i said you never told me, you said, i didn't know.

>> i didn't know. i didn't know. >> you didn't? >> no. >> that's what you said, i didn't know that. >> no, i didn't know that it was going to be -- [inaudible conversations] >> i've got to find ann, she'll want to see you. right there, that beautiful -- she's talking to elizabeth tole. dole. that's that white-haired lady with the jacket. how about your dad? >> she's 101. tell him al abrams says hello. i worked for him in the '80s. [laughter] >> hello, hello! >> he was claiming he was alan simpson. >> no, i'd never do that, i'm not tall enough. >> al abrams? >> yeah. >> tell al, give him the usual greeting. >> i will, i'll do it just for you. >> thank you for coming by. this is madness. >> yeah. >> who was that?

who was that? some phantom. >> [inaudible] longstanding relationship. >> was that norm mineta? anyway -- [inaudible] >> i'm starting out minimally, but i'm not getting any support -- [inaudible conversations] >> yeah, i've got all my arguments. i've got people worried about it now, they don't want to raise taxes because grover says no. >> i say, look, when coburn takes six billion out of the ethanol and grover calls it -- [inaudible] he calls it ludicrous, tom did, and i call it descent -- deceptive. >> yeah. tom's helping on this, so's --

[inaudible] i'm gaining ground. >> pick up a vote or two. [laughter] >> ann is in there. sam tondson said -- donald said he would -- [inaudible conversations] >> i didn't write this book. i don't get any money out of this. no. the money all goes to the author. i don't get any. [laughter] no, it's true. >> thank you so much, sir. >> you're very welcome. okay. >> senator, i used to work with michael saunders in senator think monday's -- thurmond's office, and we are big fans of yours. >> i needed them in my line of work. >> it's so nice to see you, and

i can't wait to read it. >> well, i didn't write it, but it's a good book. >> well, i hope we can get you to sign it -- >> oh, yes, i will. i signed a whole bunch. >> we are getting one for his mom and dad. thank you, senator, it's great to see you. >> it'll just tear their heart out. >> oh! >> tears will stream down their face. >> you haven't changed a bit. >> how are you? >> travis jordan, it's been a couple years. hey, there we go. >> i know, right? i'm working for -- [inaudible conversations] >> i told him when i saw him, i said i don't know if you've ever been in politics, but don't get in. i don't care what party -- [inaudible] wonderful.

>> he still tells us that story. >> true story. >> absolutely. >> oh, good. good of you to be here. well, i'll personalize it. >> senator, hi. >> how are you? are you still flying your plane? >> i am. >> i was the press secretary on the house side, and i got there in 1988. my boss bill springer -- >> [inaudible] >> he's doing great. i see him all the time. he said if you want to know how i think, here's who you pay attention to. yours was the first name. >> chicago. >> he was the chairman of the board -- he was there for eight years. >> i spoke there. he dragged me out there. >> i had dinner with him about six weeks ago. >> he's not doing the chicago anymore. >> he says eight years was enough. but he still has a home there. >> they're really dear people. well, you're so kind to come. this is madness.

>> really a pleasure meeting you. >> i haven't written this book, but it's good. >> i'm still here as your bodyguard, as your bodyguard, baby. [laughter] >> who is that over there? the bodyguard. >> my editor told me to ask you one question. >> anything you wish. >> who are you going to support for the administration? >> i voted for ike when i was 21. all i can tell you is republicans have a beautiful ability to give each other the saliva test of purity, and then they lose, and they bitch for four years. >> i've got to remember that. >> and that's exactly what they do. they bitch for four years, they say how did we get this, and you say, well, 20% of you voted for ross perot, you jerk. >> okay, you haven't answered my question. >> no, i'm not going to. >> you see, i told you he wasn't going to answer. [laughter] >> i would have to say i just wrote a check yesterday for

romney. >> how much? >> it was for a thousand bucks. i could have done more, but -- >> he's hoping for sales of the book. >> i just waited because i have effectively pissed everyone off in america with the co-chairmanship of this commission. and we know we've succeeded so far because we have pissed off everyone in america. and erskine go all over this country, we don't do bullshit, and we get standing ovations. people are thirsting for -- [inaudible conversations] and then how you stabilize social security. >> yes. >> not good and old senior wherw do you do something with medicare which is eating a whole -- doesn't matter what you care, call it elvis presleycare.

anyway, keeper candidating them. irritating them. [inaudible conversations] >> well, we enjoy a little bit of cody coming to d.c. >> madness. who are these people? >> i know, i know. >> all your fans. >> well, i tell you, it is bizarre. and i didn't get a nickel off this -- >> oh, shoot. >> well, you have to change that. second printing. come on, you said a couple jokes for them, right? >> don hardy, the author. he's speaking in just a few minutes. >> oh, wonderful. well, we got a couple copies. >> i read it as a proofreader first, and then i read it as a reader, and reading it as a reader -- >> it's a lot more fun. >> yeah. oh, we can't wait to read it. >> i'm going to scribble all over. >> oh, it's wonderful. will we see some of your brood in here? >> yes. >> excellent. >> kathy, you didn't have to --

>> are you kidding me in --? >> you didn't have to do this. oh, get in here. >> get in here, deborah. >> ann's in that room in there. you're so dear to come in. >> are you kidding me? this man loves you. >> we love you. here's a great guy. >> >> and dingell and i used to do a hell of a lot of business. >> boy, did we ever. >> did we? >> i really miss you, alan. >> i miss you too. ful. >> he doesn't want to go to anything, and he saw that and said, deborah, i have to go to an event. >> i was working my way up, but i didn't get there, but ann is here. there she is right over there. >> we'll go see her. >> a lot of people voted for her, john. >> how you doing? >> i am doing so well, i just

can't stand myself. i have everything. well, almost everything, senator. [laughter] >> go ahead, tell c-span. >> by the way, you may forget but you arranged for kate, my wife and i, to get married in the howard baker room -- >> i remember. >> yeah. well. >> so everything working well? >> well, we're still together. >> i mean -- [inaudible conversations] >> anyway, thank you so much. >> how are you? i'm getting in as much trouble as i can. >> who are you with now? >> i am freelancing, i'm working on my own book. >> what are you writing about, spooks? >> my dad. >> [inaudible] >> no, he died at 100. >> oh, that's a book. >> the last time i saw you you were in -- [inaudible conversations]

>> and you were -- >> ann is over there. my god! you're related to the queen! >> my god! >> who is this man? >> i am in the presence of royalty. >> i know who it is, it's david -- >> ah! >> david brinkley, come back from the dead. >> i'm buying five books. how much are they? >> i don't know, i didn't write it. >> you didn't write it? what the hell are we doing here? >> there's the author. >> don hardy, i wrote the book. >> hello, don. [inaudible conversations] >> probably want to go to the brown palace and let me buy -- >> i just said that to sammy, we had a great time. [inaudible conversations]

>> ann? annie? right here. sam and jan. we want to get a picture. >> well, let me in it. >> there she is. >> oh. i'm here because of you. [inaudible conversations] >> you wanted to raise my taxes! >> you didn't have to do this. >> wanted to raise the taxes and raise revenue -- >> no, we're going to have to raise taxes. we know what you make, and we're going to -- >> that is a long history. >> the author and be his wife, don and becky, and they spent

six years on this baby. >> i'm surprised they finished it in such a quick time the way you are, you old coot. >> go ahead, tell c-span whatever you'd like to tell. [laughter] [inaudible conversations] >> these are pals of mine. how are you? >> how are you. >> stick around. your book will get special attention. >> well that's -- we've already bought it, but i it would them that i wanted you to write something more in it. >> i've got them all stacked up to sit down and really deal with, and then i'll get -- >> where's -- >> i'll be here tomorrow, we're doing five different things. we ought to have a pile of books to receive my personal attention. i can do it tomorrow sometime or tomorrow later. >> okay. [inaudible conversations] >> buffalo bill's granddaughter.

>> we wanted to find out where the books -- >> we pissed off everyone in america. >> did you? good, good. [inaudible conversations] >> linda, my child. how good of you to come. >> well, i really asked your wife to sign the book because i said i bet she did most of it. >> the books that need extra care, and because -- and i'm going -- [inaudible] i didn't write it. >> oh, that's right. i forgot about that. >> oh, about you. >> well, i didn't write it, but anyway, i want to add some special notes to this. >> well, does that mean we'll

ever get it back? >> you'll get it back. is that my hairpiece? jesus. >> the one you lost 45 years ago. [laughter] >> john dingell came. he doesn't go to anything. i love the guy. they caught me kissing him on the head. well, he's a dear -- >> a lot of us wouldn't come out in this race -- [inaudible conversations] >> i'll even hide the book. everybody will think i'm fiddling around with your fanny. [laughter] >> once the desk clerk, i was just geesed in your elevator, he said don't you mean goosed? he said, don't you think i know how to count? >> [inaudible] >> oh, how are you?

emily, good to see you. how have you been? >> i've been well. >> you look wonderful. [inaudible conversations] >> how are you? remember the night we were at -- [inaudible] >> are you sure that's the only one? >> we'll get to you in a minute. >> bob and judy worcester. best wishes. that's it. that's all i want. that's for bob moss' friend. he loves you, i love you.

>> i've got to get a picture -- thok knox. [inaudible conversations] >> okay, get in here. don hardy. get don. here we go. this was one of my students. >> yeah. can i get one? >> this is one of my finest students. he is of the other faith. >> mr. whitehouse now. [inaudible conversations] >> i did. >> 45 minutes -- [inaudible conversations]

[laughter] >> okay, now we'll tell you why we're pissed off. >> productive. that starts like how session starts. [laughter] >> is this your daughter? oh, it's margaret. >> it's me! my daughter's not here. >> you heard me say that. >> i did. >> i'll hold this for your dad. and he was a democrat. >> you were a tiny boy, right? >> his mother was judge alice k. murray. >> 13 children. >> nine boys, four girls, and the first one out was the best dressed. [laughter] >> here's the author. >> i could have been your author. >> he wrote the book. >> hi.

>> oh, my goodness. we're all here! >> and you remember my be wife sara, right? >> how are you? >> all of the crew. good to see you all. good to see you all. [inaudible conversations] >> i can't help you, i don't do that. [laughter] >> how are you doing? >> haven't got me yet. [laughter] just pissing people off all over the country. >> you know, we were together at treasury, so we get together every once in a while and trade out -- trade al stories. >> he was one of my students, and then he -- [inaudible] now he's worked himself up to speech writer at the white house, for god's sake. >> the guy with the radio who gets in the accident -- >> rush limbaugh? [laughter] >> they don't know your voice.

[laughter] [inaudible conversations] >> there could be a couple. >> we enjoyed your card. >> we were out west. >> we're coming to yellowstone around july 4th, are you -- >> let us know because -- give us notice. >> okay. >> a lot of people come, and sometimes i look at the driveway, and then i go into the basement -- [laughter] and the doorbell rings, is anybody in there? [laughter] >> i've done that. >> i believe it. >> no, i had a camping out there in the garage with a heater and tent and the car would drive up, and i'd say, jesus, not that guy, and i'd go out and start loading this into the car and say ann and i are just headed

into the park. well, we're so sorry. laugh -- [laughter] so if you see me do that -- >> then we know. >> for my father, bob. he was the attorney general in arizona and then was -- [inaudible conversations] >> big law and order guy, loves you. past president of the nra. we can't wait to read your book. [inaudible conversations] >> thank you for all your work for this country. we need people like you in congress. [laughter] >> nice to have a fan. i needed them. >> oh, no, no, no. thank you. >> it's great to see you. >> thank you. >> sure.

well, you'd like to get out of here, wouldn't you? are you having a little -- who bought it? i'm telling you -- [inaudible conversations] >> well, we, we ran the same year. >> yeah. >> let's get it going. >> maybe stump the book. >> i don't get anything. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. i didn't hear you. hi, everyone, i'm tammy, and be i'm thrilled to welcome you to this special evening for a very dear friend of all of ours, and we're or here at this fabulous hotel, the jefferson, and i'd like to introduce you to peter

grossman who's one of our co-hosts. connie mill steven is not here tonight. peter, will you come and say hello? [applause] >> thank you. just very briefly on behalf of connie and the jefferson -- wow, i hope that's better. we're absolutely thrilled to be hosting senator simpson and his former chief of staff and biographer, donald hardy, this evening. we're excited to hear from both of them about the book, "shooting from the lip," which i guess is fitting. [laughter] connie was also very proud last year to host a dinner on behalf of the commission and then to further support it in its efforts as, i think everybody knows, on the deficit reduction. not sure that anybody really listened after they got done, but at least they put in the effort. [laughter] that's apolitical, by the way. [laughter] so in a different, in addition connie noted that it was no surprise to her at the time that

based on senator simpson's record in the senate and his bipartisanship work that he would be chosen to be a co-chair of that commission. and lastly, just want to say that, you know, as we understand mr. hardy had full access to senator simpson's records, diaries, volumes, full access -- [laughter] and i will say that's, the senator did mention he's been married 57 years, so anybody that gives full access after 57 years, i think that's pretty impressive. connie really just wanted to welcome everybody and say we're thrilled to be sponsoring this. [applause] >> now i have the pleasure of introducing what i call the bravest man in the world, don hardy, the author of the book. i don't know how you could possibly put all of this in one book and decide what to leave in and what to take out. just as someone who's had

senator simpson on msnbc, cnn and fox, you have changed the conversation about politics, about culture, about what's important in our country, and don had to put that all in how many pages? >> 460. >> 460. so, ladies and gentlemen, don hardy. [cheers and applause] >> wow. what a treat this is. thank you. um, al told me if i ever got in front of a crowd like this instead of standing in the shadows like i normally do, that i should be very careful what i say because he says one day you're the toast of the town, and the next day you're just toast. [laughter] so thank you all. thank you, peter and tammy and ken levinson is an amazing guy. [applause] i met ken, and he worked with lane bailey and holly paige at the column. i met him 18 years ago in china. he was a great guy then, he's a

great guy now. i hope you all get to meet ken. if it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be here tonight. so, oh, and jackie, jackie bloom, wherever she is. oh there,. [applause] without her, the invitation list would have been a mess. [laughter] i've known alan simpson for just over 50 years. i grew up in cody, wyoming, near al. i heard all the stories when i was a kid, and then i tried to do it myself a few years later. [laughter] he helped me out of that hole. [laughter] i worked 18 years for al, all 18 years i was press secretary and then chief of staff, responsible for all mistakes. [laughter] and when al went to retire and went to the harvard, i went to the smithsonian and was in charge of government there for a while. then my wonderful wife, rebecca, who is right here -- [applause] i'm telling you, i could not have been this good without

becky. she did, she proofed and she researched and she put up with me being up at 4:00 in the morning, and she is amazing. so we were, retired, went overseas and did a bunch of work with charities and children and blind people, lepers, and came back and ended up on a sailboat, and one day in 2005 the phone connected for some reason to some island tower, and it rang. and it was al simpson, and he said these guys want to write the story of my life. and they don't know me as well as you do, would you like to take a shot at it? and i said -- because it was a good life. and i said just -- [laughter] i said just a second, al, i'm having trouble getting the cork out of this bottle of chardonnay. [laughter] but i did, and i said why would i to that? -- do that? he said because i will give you access to everything in my life, everything. and i thought i knew a lot, but all of his records, his papers,

his speeches, his personal letters from his family members, it was all there. everything that i could possibly want. and especially the diaries. 6,000 pages with the diaries. 19 binders. and people like david mccullough said the reason these are valuable is because they were put down, these things, as they happened. so i was at the white house talking to gorbachev or saddam hussein, and he took notes. and then he dictated it into this diary that ended up being 2.4 million words. [laughter] so we set sail for the united states, and al said how long is this going to take? i said about a year. that was in 2005. [laughter] and i said but something that's really important, i said people know i worked for you, and i was loyal to you, and you've been my

friend for half a century. they're going to expect this thing will be a puff piece, and it's very important that they not think that after they read it. so i said, you know, it's going to be important that i tell the bad things and the failures in balance along with all the successes. and al said, look, you just do the right thing by telling the truth. he said if hair, eyeballs and teeth land on the floor as a result of telling the truth about me, so be it. [laughter] i also said that i have to have editorial control. if you write anything in this book, people are not going to think -- they'll think it's a puff piece. and also you can't have any money. [laughter] and so i hold the contract for that with the university of oklahoma press.

so al said say what you want, but make it true. so i did. the first three pages describe what it's like to push a flaming car off a cliff and burn down a house and shoot enough mailboxes to end up on federal probation. [laughter] now, the reason that that's important is that -- [laughter] >> it's really not. >> it is important. because this is not a story about politics. half of you have probably written books about politics. the bill goes here, the bill goes there. it gets passed, it doesn't get passed, people slug it out in the cloak room, whatever. this is a book about humanity, about a human being. he happened to be a poll decision. but this is a story about a person who is extremely human, a person who puts citizenship ahead of partisanship, and that's why it was important to tell this story. and it goes back to the days in which republicans and democrats spoke to each other and respected each other.

and it doesn't p happen as much anymore, but for example, al simpson was a great friend of ted kennedy. they spoke very late into his life, and people didn't know that, and they didn't understand it in wyoming especially. [laughter] so a little story i have to tell you that kind of demonstrates the days in which there was friendship because either one of these guys could get the mic and tell the same exact story. it involves a town meeting in wyoming. you know where people come in, and they raise their hands, and they're upset about something. and this raucous meeting is going on, and al's presiding over it, and in the door comes ted kennedy. and people can't believe it. someone in the back says what's this guy doing in wyoming? another guy stands up, and he says that ted kennedy, he's here in wyoming, that guy is a horse's ass. [laughter] simpson jumps up, runs to back

of the room, grabs the guy, opens the door and throws him into a snow bank. [laughter] and when he comes back in kennedy says to him, good heavens, that was magnificent, al. i had no idea this was kennedy country. laugh of -- [laughter] and al looked at him and said, ted, it's not. it's horse country. [laughter] [applause] senator al simpson. [cheers and applause] >> well, this is, this is beyond repair here. [laughter] several people have come up to me and said, al, let me tell you a new story. i said, go ahead, i'm wired. [laughter] oh, jeez, all right, i'll save it for later. [laughter] anyway, now, if i started around this room, there are some wonderful people here that -- and i'm not going to do that. haven't had a drink, will a

little later. [laughter] but i have to say don hardy took this over, and what he really forgot to say is when he was 17, he borrowed a car. i think it was a rental from webster chevrolet and drove it to seattle. [laughter] the not a rental, it was called stolen. [laughter] and he came to me and said i've heard you were a mess, what about me? i said, you're a mess, so come on in here. you're a very salvageable human being. [laughter] so we were linked at the hip way back, way back there. [laughter] that's a true story. of -- but he's done a beautiful job. it's a great book. i read it as a proofreader three times thinking, oh, i found this and that, you know, and, boy, i'd dig him up. and then i read it as a reader would read a book, and it had a lump -- i had a lump in my throat and be a laugh

throughout. so it's there, and it's a beautiful book, and i love it. things could have been left out -- [laughter] i mean, the day i slugged the cop in laramie -- [laughter] thrown in the clink, called ann. ann is here. ann, would you step -- [cheers and applause] and i said i need $300 bail, i'm in the clink. she said, look, i'm working my way through school, i don't have $300. [laughter] she said, just stay there. [laughter] so i thought, i need to marry her. [laughter] saving myself for the prim rose path. and then in this room is another great and dear friend, dick and lynn cheney, and i won't tell you about dick cheney's experiences. [applause] [laughter] especially at the university of wyoming which would make mine pale. [laughter] no, i tell you, this -- we ran together in 978, he ran for the congress, i ran for the senate, and lynne and dick and annie and

i have run, every time one of us was running and neither of us ever lost an election. so that's a tribute to you, cheney, for lynne and ann. [applause] and then right back there standing next to him is this little rascal i met behind barbed wire. he was in the japanese war relocation center in heart mountain, wyoming, as a 12-year-old boy, and our scout master said we're going to go to heart mountain and meet the boy scouts. well, who -- i'll tell you, nobody wanted to go. it had barbed wire all around it, guard towers, machine guns, and it was one of those of the ten relocation centers. and we had a scout master, he said these are guys just like us. they're boy scouts. i ran into this guy from san jose, and we really -- oh, he was a smart aleck just like i was. [laughter] and we had a bully, we picked -- he picked on us so it rained

that day, and we just dug a little trench right toward his cabin, and during the night it rained like hell, and it ruined his tent, pulled it up. and we just laughed. [laughter] he said i laughed more than he did. that's a friendship. what's that? >> you kept me up all night. [laughter] >> well, when i read he was mayor of -- i wrote him. i said remember the fat kid from cody? we started to correspond together, served together on the board of regents of the smithsonian, so these are great memories. but as i say, dick and lynne that goes back 40 some yearses. i could go back to nina totenberg who's in this chamber. [laughter] she and i had some spirited words. [laughter] and let me tell you, she and dave, when i was at harvard, we had wonderful times together. her father still playing virtuoso violin, and we had a lot of fun. and i always -- if you can't forgive a person, it's like

letting them live in your head rent-free. [laughter] that's not a funny statement. if you can't forgive a person, it's like letting them live in your head rent-free. i mean, you're in the shower thinking that son of a bitch -- [laughter] and he's out, he's golfing. [laughter] so what do you gain from that? [laughter] and then, of course, billington is lurking over here, i can't go through all of this. clarence thomas was here. boy, amazing things you go through. i met -- i say to people, why don't you move on. what is the purpose of keeping tab seething? there are the seethers and the seekers. i prefer the seekers. anyway, billington. he's up for, he's up for library of congress. there's another guy up there, a real wizard, and the staff, reagan's staff wanted that guy. so i'm sitting next to ronald reagan, and i said, ron, i

really love the guy. i'm in his diary a lot, i'll tell you. i said, i think you want to think of this guy, billington. he said yeah? yeah, al, why would that be? i said, he hates commies. [laughter] and i said, not only that, he knows russian fluently. he can tell just exactly when those sons of bitches what they're saying, and he knows what they're -- he said, really? [laughter] three days later -- [laughter] great story. john dingell, where's that rascal? oh, he and i -- >> you weren't going to do this. >> i know, but i can't stop. [laughter] but dingell and i used to meet on conference committees, and he'd say, look, we're going to get this done. and i said, who are you going to

concern before the ten days are over, he named a guy. he said why don't you do something with that staff in the committee of the senate, i said, i can't, they're tougher than i am. but then we got together and just beat them to bits. and chuck robb and i were on the iraq study group. of it is important. what the hell's happened? the word compromise now means you're a wimp. that's madness. and here's bruce reed who's the executive director of the commission on, co-chaired by with erskine and i. from idaho, i don't know how he got into that. [laughter] i'm not going to go any further. i see coar are logan over there, one of my students -- now, ann has cleared her throat three times. [laughter] and none of you have heard it, but i have heard it. [laughter] i just want to say we're going to stick around. i'd like to thank these sponsors because the test of an event like this, i go up and said how is the wine?

better than anything you ever bought. [laughter] and so i'm now that i've finished, i'll be having one. but look, there's something i wanted -- if you have a book, and i just don't want to just scribble my name. you can get those out there. if you have a book and you want me to do some personalization, just leave it, and we'll put a slip of paper in there, and eventually i'll get 'em back, or they'll be here in washington with mike tonger, mike, my chief of staff, where is he? [laughter] [inaudible conversations] in anyway, mac -- mike and leili, you were the finest staffer i've ever known. [applause] and you'll wear your crown in heaven, certainly not here. [laughter] and becky here, becky -- all right. this is like the picture of dorian gray. [laughter] i am falling apart, and this

picture is eternal. [laughter] dorian gray was the opposite. the picture aged, and he never did. he sold his soul, and then he ended up in a pile of bones, a cadaverrish myth. but that is a beautiful thing. [laughter] anyway, annie and i are having fun. to think that i do these things, just one reason: this wonderful guy right here, and i've never received a penny. [laughter] [applause] thank you for coming, thank you. stick around. [inaudible conversations] >> oh. oh, my sakes. [applause] >> you're watching 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books on c-span2's booktv. >> well, a former state legislator who spent a lot of time in the news in the 2010 election cycle was sharron angle

of nevada. she has a book out, and it's called "right angle: one woman's journey to reclaim the constitution." senator angle, if people read this book, will they learn about the campaign from your perspective, your senate campaign against harry reid? >> you're too kind to call me senator. as you know, i'm private citizen angle now, and they will get that. they will get my perspective on the campaign, but more than that they'll get my perspective on conservativism and the constitution. it's more of a handbook for constitutional conservatives and not so much a memoir. >> host: what was one of the issues you talked about in the campaign that you write about in the book? >> guest: i talk about energy, i talk about the economy. the difference, it's kind of a layman's handbook, if you will, to the difference between what we're going through now and experiencing in this keynesian economic period and why austrian economics or that school of

thought really works better, the supply side works better for a free economy. i also talk about education, and i talk about the social issues that are facing our day and, of course, those social issues impact us fiscally as well. and we're starting to hear more and more about that as our presidential campaign wraps up. >> host: let's take energy for one issue. what is the conservative approach or your approach to energy policy? >> guest: well, certainly energy policy if any policy should come from the free market should be driven by the free market. and so whenever you have the government playing in any free market enterprise, what you're going to get is winners and losers. some are going to feel more entitled because they're getting government funding, and i discuss that in the book, how some of the things that we classify as green energy are actually being subsidized. and if those subsidies went away or the entitlements from the government went away, the whole industry would go away.

so what we need to do is really concentrate on what works well for nevada, what are those good sources of energy, and we know that the, um, oil industry, of course, has been self-supporting for a long time. so that's going to be one that's really working in the free market. we're also looking toward nuclear and why it works in the free market. >> host: local issue in nevada is yucca mountain. do you think yucca mountain should be used for nuclear waste storage? >> guest: well, certainly we should explore the opportunities that yucca mountain has made available to the american people and to the people of nevada. as you know, that's a secure site. it always has been a place where if we have something that was volatile and shouldn't be open to the world to explore, that's a good place to put it. and also we need to think about what the potentials are there for nevada if we have scientists that are already there developing how we can use the waste products, can we recycle

those, is there technology out there? and i discuss that in the book, yes, there is some technology out there that really does begin to answer the questions what are the opportunities with nuclear, and what are the opportunities for nevada with the nuclear energy industry? >> host: sharron angle, in the book "right angle," what's one of the social issues you discuss? >> guest: of course, the social issues that are most important and on the forefront right now, of course, are abortions and marriage. and i discuss why a conservative comes to the position of being, as i say, pro-life. and the reason is, of course, we're so angry with president obama that the first act of his presidency would be to send money outside this country for abortions. our taxpayer dollars. that hits every conservative right in the pocketbook, and they say i didn't think i was pro-life before, but now i am. and so i discuss it's not just from the moral religious

perspective, but just plain common sense. >> host: what was it like to run against the majority leader of the united states? what was that like? >> guest: well, it was certainly an eye-opening experience. i can kind of feel that same momentum building with this presidential election. i feel that what harry reid did was presented the pattern or the playbook to the democrats for this 2012 cycle in 2010. he pulled out all the stops, he used every trick in the book, and he also began the messaging that we're starting to hear not only from the progressive liberal media, but we're also hearing it from our side which is just astounding to me. and i'm always eager to talk to conservatives about primaries are where we get to vote principles. and we need to do that. we need to not el brace

anything -- embrace anything or anyone who says this one is unelectable because we know it's we, the people, that elect. if we vote, they're electable. >> host: there were about four months during that campaign in 2010 where you were in the news every day. what was that like personally? >> guest: well, that was by design. we, we were vulnerable the day after the primary because we had spent all of our money to win that primary against an odds-on favorite, an establishment favorite. we went into the general election with no money, so we were having to scramble to get some money. harry reid came out the day after with his media blitz, and what he did was he just began to pour tons of money our way. the press from the, the pressure from the press was designed also to keep me off balance, to catch those things in sound bites. as you know, we are working in sound bites, out of context. and i was never allowed to really explain thoroughly what i

was speaking about at the moment that they caught that little sound bite. also we were never able because we didn't have the money to do the rapid response to that. so they got ahead of us in that first three weeks because we just didn't have the money to fight the fight that we needed to fight, and i would just be very, um, a word of caution to whoever comes out of this primary. have enough to be ready to go on television and rapidly respond to whatever attack comes to you from that arena because we know we're not just going against the opposition, we're going against a press that is aligned with that candidate. >> host: how long did it take you to write "right angle"? >> guest: i started in 2009, it was actually finished before i ran against harry reid, and my campaign manager said, you know, i don't think we want that out in print. [laughter] and so -- >> host: why? >> guest: well, he, you know, the more you have in print, the more that's out there, the more they can use against you.

and he was just saying, you know, let's just run the campaign, you can publish afterwards. and so what i did was i pulled it out after the campaign was over, kind of put in the end of the story, if you will, and made it applicable for today. and so it came out in june of 2010. >> host: in retrospect, would you put it, would you put it out before the campaign? >> guest: yes, i would. [laughter] i think people, that's what they want to know. they want to know who is this candidate. they really wanted to know who i was as a candidate, and i think if it had been out there, people, if they had taken a chance to read it, they would have known that i was an american just like they are, that i'm a common sense conservative and that those things that were coming from that left-wing media were really a ploy to drive down my numbers, my positive numbers that i came out of the primary with and to paint me as a fringe, extreme,

wacky person which if you read the book, you'll understand that i come from a very middle class family. my dad had a small business. we worked in that small business. i never intended to be a politician. my degree is in art, and i'm an educator, and it was from that background when the government intruded into my family by an activist judge saying i know it's the law in nevada that you can home school your children, but the law should say you can't home school unless yourself more than 50 miles away from the school. my son had just failed kindergarten, he was feeling very defeated, and i knew i had some solutions for him. when the judge and government told me you cannot provide the solutions for your family, i knew i had to be more than a voter, and that set me on the course. >> host: sharron angle, do you see yourself running for office again? >> guest: possibly. i've not ruled gig out, not even -- ruled anything out, not

even for this cycle. i'm kind of waiting to see the cause we donated money to for this book is twofold. first, to make sure that we have senators elected that changes the majority to a minority this time, that we have senator reid no longer as the leader and that, of course, is just by changing four seats. the other, the other mission is to make sure that we here in america have a fair and secure vote. and so i'm going to be working with election integrity. which is? >> guest: election integrity really goes to these problems we're having with the law that opens the door for mischief. we've seen things happening like 953 dead people voting in south carolina. we don't want that to be an element. we don't even want it to be a factor in the 2012 election. and so that's why we're working now with citizens. we want a million people to volunteer to go to the polls and

keep their eyes on the process, you know? stalin says it's not who votes, it's who count the votes. we think it's up to we, the people of america, to be constantly vigilant in this process and be willing to give up 4-8 hours, maybe a whole day at the polls not only volunteering on election boards, but just to be observers in the process. >> host: now this book, "right angle," was published by author house. where is that and where is it available? >> it's available on our web site our voice pac.org, there you can order the book. you can also get it at amazon, border, barnes & noble. but if you want all of the proceeds of your donation to come to me, go to my web site. author house is a self-publishing company.

i decided that i wanted the proceeds to all be used for this pac, and so i'm not in that situation where i get a percentage of my book. i own my book, and be i, you know, i paid them to do what i needed to have done, and now the book and the proceeds are all for our cause at our voice pac. and we've been talking with sharron angle, former nevada state legislator, republican candidate for national senator against majority leader harry reid and the author of this book, "right angle: one woman's journey to reclaim the constitution." >> this weekend there are two ways to watch the tucson festival of books on booktv; live on c-span2 and live online at booktv.org. on c-span2 today starting at 1:30 eastern, jeffrey rosen on the history of the supreme court, and at 3 panels on forensic science, politics at