so that any martyr could die like a criminal. you wouldn't be celebrated after your death. your wife would turn your photograph around in -- your parents wouldn't talk to you. your children would be told -- >> that doesn't matter after your death. >> no, but -- but it's a sort of -- age would find it very difficult to contemplate. and vaughn walker said that is actually what stopped people. it was the shame. [applause] >> thank you very much. >> for more information, visit the author's website, ianburuma.com. >> from the '30s annual miami

book fair international on the campus of miami dade college, congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz discusses her book for the next generation, a wakeup call to solving our nation's problems. this is about 45 minutes. >> right now we are talking with congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, for the next generation is the name of her book. you said in your presentation, three years writing this. why? well, about four months after i decided to move forward with writing the book, president obama called and asked me to take on another full-time job ensuring the democratic national committee. and i felt like in order to redo the book justice and do my job justice, coming up with a possible during the presidential campaign probably wasn't the best idea. so we push the forward -- the book forward by year. so i spent another year

researching and writing it and came out with it in october. >> by the time this book is published, you write, i hope we will look back on the health care reform debate as well as the debt ceiling debate, and it does it was rock-bottom in the modern era of american political stability. i don't want to imagine how it would get worse. >> well, just when you thought you could not get worse, we end up having t the republicans and the tea party shut the government down all in the name of stopping people from getting quality, affordable healt healt. it so irresponsible that even at that point i didn't think at work was possible. >> who is the next-generation? are the next-generation? argue the next-generation? >> the next generation is really our children. i wrote this book really through the lens of being my children small but i realize every decision i make personal and professional is done through that lens and even though sony politicians talk about the next generation, it's not an abject concept for me. i have the next-generation in

the back of my car. we have to measure and wrote about it until people understand that we have to measure our nation's success by how well our children are doing to we have to all get engage in making a difference on issues that matter the most to us. if we don't, then we really going to damage the next-generation. >> representative watts and shows will be with us for about the next 25 resourceful. if you'd like to talk to her about some of the issues that we will be talking about and that cost is confronting right now. >> you can also send a tweet at booktv is our twitter handle in case you can't get through on the phone line. representative wasserman shultz from one of the issues you talked about in here though is the patriot act and cybersecurity and spine. 2001 when the patriot act was passed, most of the congress if not all voted for it.

how would you have voted? >> guest: you know, i was in congress when we voted for the reauthorization of the patriot act, and under the republican congress when president bush was in office i voted against those reauthorization's because i felt that they didn't strike the right balance between protecting our privacy ever taken our national security, but there were versions i voted for. it's hard to say how he would've voted in 2001 but there's no question that we have two site that balance. we need to continue our quest because i'm not sure we are there yet. >> host: edward snowden, has he done our nation a favor in your view? >> guest: no. edward snowden is a greater edward snowden has dramatically damage our country. and should not be looked at as a patriot. he compromised national security. he violated an oath that he took

and really did serious damage to the united states of america. >> host: one of the issues or one of the terms you use and we see this term is bipartisanship. in your presentation earlier you talked about some of dinners and softball teams, some the things that you do. but how do you maintain bipartisanship? how do you get to that point where you and republicans are republicans and democrats are working on issues? >> guest: you had to make a sustained commitment to. the easy thing to do is to default to our respective corners and big and hard. for me even as the chair of the democratic national committee i sorely support my party's agenda but i recognize a campy my way or the highway. we don't have enough people on the outside of the outright have the belief that. so i consider it my responsibility to individual reach across the aisle and i republicans who can work with but right now there are precious few.

many of them are worried about looking over their shoulder and drawing tea party primary opposition of losing their election. we can't have people in congress who care more about power than doing the right thing. >> host: are they suspicious of u.s. head of the dnc? >> guest: i would imagine there are some, but i found that there are -- that when they take the opportunity to do know, that's why we hold these bipartisan dinners, dan webster and die. because of to clear away the perception that our respective roles create, and really try to get to know each other as individuals. so that we can work together. >> host: one of the things you wrote in "for the next generation" is that obamacare, the affordable care act is not sacrosanct. and it can be altered. is that a fair assessment country what i wrote about the affordable care act, obama to in the book is that just like legislation now we've had for more than 200 years, when our

problems that arise when you sit down and try to hammer out those problems and work together. what we don't need to do, which i also say in the book is no through 43 different fruitless attempt to repeal or delay or deny people the ability to get access to quality of fort will health care. that's what republicans have been attempting to do. the affordable care act is the bill that was passed by both houses been upheld by the supreme court and signed by the president we had an election last year in which that was one of the central questions. president obama was overwhelmingly reelected. as problems arise, when you have a big change like this, they inevitably will, we should sit down and work together. republicans have to agree on the basic premise that health care is a right and not a privilege. and that they want to make sure that insurance companies can't drop people or deny them coverage and make sure it is a mechanism to do that. >> host: one each -- one other issue before going to calls. energy dependence.

we talked about this term for a long time. what do you propose that is different? >> guest: we've got to wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels. no matter how much time we are left with what we have it in america, it's fine it. so investing in alternative energy resources while engaging in all of the above strategy, we have natural gas resources now, we are getting to the point where we are exporting natural gas to other countries but with got out that all of the above strategy. not drill, baby, drill because that's not a key to making sure we can be energy independent. >> host: who is the next generation of leaders in congress and would you like to be speaker of the house? >> guest: gosh, i focus on what's right in front of me right now, which is doing the best job i can for the people in the 23rd congressional district. and making sure we can elect democrats. i'm not focus beyond that. >> host: who was the next generation of leaders in the

house on both sides? >> guest: the are a number of members on both sides of the aisle that are building towards positions of leadership. but i think, you, probably better to leave that question to others. i know leader pelosi has her list, and is she very kindly included me in it as i was very pleased to be asked by jim clyburn to be a part of the leadership and serve as chief deputy whip. right now we've got to focus on working together and trying to get things turned around, particularly make our economy a more robust. >> host: everyone's windshield was first elected in 2004. first call comes from calling in nevada. we are talking about her new book, "for the next generation: a wake-up call to solving our nation's problem." go ahead. >> caller: yes. i would just like to ask, or

maybe just make a statement. i would like to know why republicans think that everybody in this country wants to think like them? why they can't figure out some people do not want their opinions and their actions, especially when it came to choking the country in the name of the affordable care act. because they didn't like it. they figure that would work. thank you. >> guest: thank you very much. that's one of the points i make in my book, in that we had to stop with the my way or the highway policy. even as chair of the dnc understand that i support my party's agenda. i fight like have to make sure that we can get it adopted, but i also recognize that there are other people have valuable opinions and that it's important to reach across the aisle and find common ground and that's how we're going to end up with the best product. we just need more people on the other side right now to actually

embrace the concept as well as think we will be able to get more done in. >> host: who are some of your best friends on republicans i'd? >> guest: well, lamar smith who is i know amazing, right? former chair -- lamar smith and i had been the cosponsors of significant legislation, numerous occasions, passed legislation into law, child protection legislation in the last congress. he's the former chair of the judiciary committee to i served on the committee when he was chair. you couldn't be more polar opposites philosophically than lamar smith america we been able to find that the issues that really matter to both of us. actually i invited lamar and he came down, accepted my invitation. came down to get my district in south florida. we did a press comes together, and a roundtable on child protection and then did an intellectual property tore down her in the music industry to learn about the importance of

protecting intellectual property. is a great guy. >> host: have you been divisive and texas? >> guest: not yet. but we really enjoyed working together. we just set aside issue issues e don't agree and work together on the ones we do. >> host: sounds like an answer -- next call for debbie wasserman schultz comes from neil and wellington, florida. you are on booktv. >> caller: thank you for taking my call, and i just wanted to say, that he has the best smile every person i know in congress. keep it up. >> guest: thank you. >> caller: and visit wellington. okay? >> guest: thank you. >> caller: you're welcome aspect thank you. >> host: that was it. richard in pleasant grove utah. richard, what is your question >> guest: my question is how come obama and a democratic

people are running us down a social plan to take away our children, shut health care down our throats and we can't afford and tell us we are -- we have to take care of everybody? it's very common is the. maybe you people need to read the book "mein kampf" and see what hitler did to his people. i'm very upset about it. >> host: let's get a response from congresswoman wasserman schultz. >> guest: obviously i don't sure richard you, and what we're trying to do as democrats under president obama's leadership and democrats in congress is make sure we can focus on what most people in america's number one priority is is creating jobs, getting this economy to turn around, focus on investing in long-term issues like education, and investing in health care research, make sure that we can get a handle on the long-term solvency of some of our safety

net programs like social security and medicare. to me that's just the appropriate role for government, and i think most americans agree which is why we reelected president obama. >> host: do you understand richards concerned? he feels it is being put on him. is that a fair concern? >> guest: i really don't. in this case, throwing accusations like unfortunate chose to do this and constructive. and i wish that folks like him would take a minute to step back and actually listen and engage in dialogue and tried to understand the other side's point of view. .. when you here talk like his, it is evident he is watching fox news and gets the information mostly from right-wing conservative sources and isn't open to other points of view. and that is why i wrote the

book. hopefully someone finds a way to see we have to try to work together and not dig in so hard and accept everything we hear from one side or another. >> putting on your political hat for a moment. the rollout of the health care website: has it the rollout of the health care web site. has it hurt democrats politically? >> that is not a political issue to me. is absolutely critical. president obama believes it is critical we get the web site and running so the majority of individuals have the ability to get on and shop. that will give them the ability they can get better benefits for less cost for lower-cost and what it says to us politically in our favor or against us i actually think is not so much the issue because i believe democrats because of the benefits the affordable care act has provided so many that we

will run as candidates on obamacare as an advantage in the 2014 election. >> next call from oregon, john, the next generation is the name of her book, debbie wasserman schultz is the author. >> two questions. the answer to what is the difference between daniel els began ed snowden and how do you define a right versus an opportunity to acquire health care through working which you completely neglected in the concept of health care being a right. is great if we can provide the right for health care to be acquired by people but when you vote out there for the people, paying for others to not have to do anything, and if you could explain that that would be fantastic, thank you.

>> sure. you probably have a misconception of what the affordable care act does. without the affordable care act, we are paying for millions of people's health care, who felt the emergency room when they are so sick there's no other choice and we are paying for their health care. and the affordable care act will allow people to get coverage and allow them to go to the doctor without the need to pay at co-pay. and so sick their health care costs are a lot more. healthcare should be right, not a privilege because my parents raised me to believe if you don't have your health you don't have anything and as a breast cancer survivor i experience that first and, to ensure everybody has the ability to stay healthy.

i grew up on long island and lived on long island and move to florida to get the university of florida. >> what did your parents do? >> guest: my parents lived in my home town now but my imam absolutely was in retail and managed greenhouses for many years -- we have 14-year-old twins and when they were 5 months old, i was deciding whether to downsize new york or florida and it was an easy choice. i took some home after four days. >> host: next call from kathy in new hampshire. >> caller: i am calling, hello, just calling with an idea. i don't know if it would work,

but it might. say you have a 4%, 5% national sales tax on all goods and services and you use this money totally to pay for medicaid. medicare is taken care of. so therefore you would cap all of the people who weren't on medicaid and medicare, you cap the rates that insurance companies could ask of them and lower the price for all those people, the in between. i just wondered what you thought of that idea. >> host: why do you think that is a good idea? why are you proposing that? >> caller: because i think it would be a fair way and also -- keep rates down and it would be people could make the choice if

they didn't want to pay a national sales tax of 5% or whatever it took if they didn't watch it, they wouldn't buy the skis or the new dress or whatever. i think it would lower the rate for people between medicare and medicaid. >> host: let's see what congress woman dead the wasserman shultz has to say about that. >> guest: i feel the affordable care act, it focused beyond medicare and medicaid. you had medicare expansion funds

and people who slipped through the gap between qualifying for medicaid and getting coverage at work, a large number of people in florida who fall into that void. unfortunately our legislature and governor refused to accept those funds so those people won't get covered. the idea is we left and insurance marketplace that was private market based, we have an individual requirements for health insurance putting everyone into the pool commack adding healthy people who are not necessarily covered right now and lowering the overall cost. we need to block towards implementing the affordable care act and giving it a chance to work. >> host: for the next generation came out in october, julie sensor is your co-author. >> guest: new york times best selling author who was a wonderful person who focused me as we wrote the book and i tried to tell my story and talk about how i thought we could make a

difference. >> host: where did you write it? >> guest: in new hampshire, north conway, a family home quinn new hampshire so when we go up there on breaks i spent a lot of time on that, all the jobs i have i have to cram in the time anywhere i could so we would schedule specific times to focus on it. >> host: have political parties become less significant in the last 30 years? what do you think about that? >> host: do they matter as much? do people care about the democratic party or the republican party like they used to? besides the conventions, what are parties for? >> guest: they matter in a different way than decades ago. now they matter because as always people who don't have a lot of time and are not

necessarily focused as much researching individual candidates if they know they generally identify with one party or another then supporting that party's candidate is a safe path way for making sure they elect people who share their views but years ago, parties had a more significant role because the campaign finance laws were quite a bit different. unfortunately the citizens united supreme court decision has really changed the impact that political parties have because now you have this unaccountable corporate infusion of donations where they are drowning campaigns and candidates in unaccountable money and it is really unfortunate. it is actually put campaigns up for sale even more than campaign finance -- >> host: it hurt the dnc and rnc

in fund-raising? >> guest: the dnc, we had online fund raising, that particularly is because people are tired of the gridlock, tired of the tea party being allowed to control the agenda, shutting the government down, being willing to hold the economy hostage in the name of getting their way on the issues that matter to them like repealing the affordable care act. people look at them as irresponsible and the point messaging to the democratic party because we take a more balanced approach and we are focused on making sure everyone has an opportunity to join the middle class and if you want to succeed you get a fair shot and a fair shake and the democratic policies focus on that. >> host: call from maryland in san rafael, calif.. >> caller: i want to thank you very much for articulating so

clearly in your panel about the health care act. so much propaganda and distortion going out and we need you to get on a national level to explain to people what it is. i am a retired nurse, means a lot to me. i ordered your book for my young physician daughter who is the next generation just like you and my other question for you goes to what jeffrey said. how are you going to withstand a pressure to give up your ideals, to stay in politics like i have seen over these generations happen more and more to amazing start up politicians? how are you going to not have something happen to you? you have an amazing future. that is it. >> guest: thank you so much. after my 20 first year in office on elected to the house of

representatives when i was 20 years old and i knocked on 25,000 doors in my first race and all the little boys told me it wasn't my turn and i went around them and went right to the people and have a lot of students, a lot of people happening in what i represent so they keep me grounded and i share your concern, too many politicians forget where they come from and i am committed to making sure you dance with the one that brought you use a. people in florida definitely have given me their support and i am appreciative of it. >> host: debbie wasserman schultz is the author of this book, for the next generation, a wake-up call to solving our nation's problems, st. martin's press, thank you for your time. >> is there a nonfiction author or but you would like to see featured on booktv? send us an e-mail at booktv@c-span.org or tweet as at twitter.com/booktv.

>> with a few weeks left in 2013 many publications up putting out their year end lists of notable books. these are the best books of 2013. hatching twitter, a true story of money, power, friendship and the trail. bill bryson recounts the summer of 1927 in one summer:america 1927. in the idealist, geoffrey sax and the quest to end party, contributing editor to vanity fair nina monk explains economist plan to eliminate poverty. gregory zuckerman of the wall street journal profiles the people who developed fracking in the outrageous inside story of the new billionaire wild cat. in the everything score, the age of amazon, brad stone, senior

writer for bloomberg business c webweeeweezweeoweesweek chronic career, richard snow recount the life and career automobile magnate henry ford in i invented the modern age:a rise of henry ford. for an extended list and links to various other publications 2013 notable book selections visit booktv's web site booktv.org. >> longtime familiar face to c-span viewers is on your screen on booktv. former new mexico governor bill richardson, former congressman and now author bill richardson, "how to sweet-talk a shark". governor richardson, where did you come up with that title? >> i negotiated over the years with some very bad people, the north koreans, saddam hussein, the cubans, people that the u.s. doesn't get along with. i relate the story of these

negotiations, most of them successful, on how you deal with a shark, with a bad guy, and how that relates to difficult negotiations at home, with a spouse, when you negotiate to buy a car or by house or a brother or sister so it is how to deal with people, the essence is really you got to relate, you got to use humor, you got to connect with people and to know where to end up, you have to use decency but also you have to have a certain cultural skills so the book is about a lot of negotiations i have had over the years as an ambassador, as a governor, as a secretary of energy. but sharks are not easy to deal with. it is important that you relate

to that shark to get but you want. in my case with diplomacy, a political prisoner or cease-fire for bringing peace or humanitarian work, but it is a fun book because i had a good ghostwriter who worked for the daily show. kevin brier is right in the back. it is a fun read. and i am teaching, writing books, consulting, giving speeches, people are paying me to give my boring >>. >> host: any changes the political office for you? >> guest: never say never. i am happy with what i'm doing as a private citizen. >> host: how do you use humor when you approach the north korean