costs, we would do less firing tear certainly if i were governor, at this time i too would've stopped the project. whether we were arguing over what could have or should that happen, we have to look at what the reality is. we are paying bond fund or will be called a moral obligation. yet at the same time, the state general assembly is saying we don't have any moral obligation for the pensions they taken away from people. there is a moral obligation to our people, not the people on wall street and that is most important to take care of our own first. >> moderator: mr. healey, you said in your economic fan one of the key things is the state pay its debts. but here you are the stage talking about the possibility -- healey: i don't look at that as a moral obligation. that is certainly not a moral obligation in the city of rhode island. >> moderator: is the date that? subs do it if they promise to pay for something the state did

not engage in. >> moderator: ms. raimondo cameras on briefly to mr. fung. he wants to know why you did higher than a firm that? raimondo. thank you for the chance to clarify. i have a policy that anytime a contract observer put it out today. when this came up, we put it out today. unfortunately, only to firms replied to the rsv and the principles of both firms were involved in 38 studios. so we did the best that we could and a committee unanimously approved hiring them. however, we hired them in a way that allows us to fire them at any time for any reason without penalty. so if at this point it's not clear they did anything wrong. if at some point it becomes clear they did something wrong, then obviously we will fire them and they will be held accountable. >> moderator: mr. fung, i know

you're answering on transition to ask a question. you never answered mine. fung: first of all, he has not been campaigning with me, so that is false. i can also bring the voters know about the general treasury says, there were two individuals that apply. the other option, the other fiscal advisers by the largest in the country. they certainly were viable option. why would you choose or not choose them over some of the state is suing for fraud amid these allegations? as far as the pavements themselves, why should we rush because there are other options, too. we could've set aside the money in escrow, do our due diligence before new types of commitments. this is too critical of the decision. millions of dollars could be put to better use for the taxpayers of rhode island and it's not a legal obligation. >> moderator: i feel it was litigated this long enough.

we are going to go to wpri-tv reporter, ted. >> there's been a lot about the high unemployment rate by one to ask about european sunday. ms. raimondo kumble start with you. the plan is to start were colleges work with private companies developing products. rhode island are to land freed up and hasn't attracted academic readers. bush do differently and how much would that cost taxpayers? raimondo: i would like to use the 195 land i think is what you're referring to. i would like to use the land to have an innovation institute. it would be funded not by the state, but by collaborations between universities and industry. it is what they are doing in ohio, what they are doing in new york city. in eric city that had roosevelt island, an empty plot of land. they did a global competition and they invited university and industry from all over the world

to bid on putting in their case and applied science institute together. cornell came together with an israeli technical university, came together with google than they are already on their way to creating thousands of jobs. imagine if we did the same thing and we could bring together and have an advanced manufacturing institute something designed to take the great ideas coming out of our colleges and universities and turned them into products we make here. that is the kind of game changer we need. it would cost the taxpayers anything. >> moderator: you mention the city of new york. they gave cornell to land for free. could you see your administration spending over $100 million on this project? raimondo: i don't know about 100 million. but you make a fair point. for too long and rhode island with an shortsighted and what we need to do is invest in growth.

the quick story of rhode island as he is to be an manufacturing mecca. of those jobs went overseas and our leaders did nothing to reposition ourselves to the future. massachusetts did. information technology and biotechnology are thriving and we've been left behind and under my leadership, we are going to drive by pulling together industry with universities to fundamentally re-create our economy and industries we can be grayed out. when science can the medical science from industrial design, create tens of thousands of jobs, good middle-class jobs. >> moderator: you acknowledge it could have a significant cost to taxpayers. raimondo: over time it will save money for economic growth. we are not going to cut our way out of it. we are going to invest in growth. >> moderator: i want to move on to mr. fung. you mentioned cutting taxes by up to $200 million in the next state budget.

there's already a deficit of $172 million for next year. but that level of tax cuts would be $370 million budget shortfall. how would you close such a huge shortfall to make your plan work? fung: first of all, i want to let you know my plan has been implemented by this general assembly this past session. the numbers will still have to be reworked and we are going to continue to put that plan into place, my $200 million available to on the taxpayer's pocket. >> moderator: how much is the new total? fung: we haven't calculated new total is because we have to see what the overall numbers will come out from what the actual swoopy. and so we get an accurate projection based upon what we are seeing, what is happening, what we're likely to finish with, it will be difficult to tell. what i can say is if we implement the $200 million plan based upon what i have put

forward, eliminate our stay one of the most competitive in the northeast and send a message to business owners here. ridiculous small-business owners that have to pay the minimum business tax of $500. let's cut that in half that in have to go further if we can. i think like all the rhode islanders, the people watching tonight, i'm tired of seeing many rhode island license plates going north of massachusetts, spending our hard-earned dollars in the borders they are. let's get our sales tax down. >> moderator: but mr. fung, even if we scale back the numbers to a $300 million budget shortfall with your planned to my house you close such a large gap? someone well, this is where the rhode island taxpayers have to put their trust in me. the experience that i have been innovating, making sure we were with the other, can validating, initiatives like that have to put in the state budget as well.

i am proud of the fact we work with other cities and towns i'm very big important issues like health care. working with her third rhode island cities like johnston, northern province, to save on it unassertive health care costs, providing the mail service for the pilgrim senior center. those initiatives are saving taxpayers and that is the type that i will initiate. >> moderator: mr. fung come in previous debates to cut part of your savings. how many state employees would move their jobs if you cut 5% of them? sauerbrun fung: we are talking about all levels of government. that is where working as a chief executive, finding efficiencies, consolidating functions where we can is where i will put the task of tackling our state budget as well. just ask yourself, why is it for a similar sized state population

wise north of that in our state budget is billions more than new hampshire's? ask yourself, take a look at the general family's budget here at rhode island. why is it millions more than the legislature budgeted in new hampshire who has many more members? that is where we will find it. >> moderator: mr. healey companies that you don't get a government function is creating jobs, the youth economic relevant plans. he put i can only save a jobs plan is to comment on this day working together to revive that we do business. what would be your top policy policies? healey: was certainly one of the things we have to look at his regulation. to get business to come into her stay, we have to made it easy for that to happen. the second problem is taxation. we need to make a pretty taxes are lower so businesses will come in, set up employment and move their money to the system

that way. i have suggested that we take the teachers contracts from each municipality and move it to a state contract. one state contract. in doing so, what you can do is you can relieve half or more, many of the property taxes in most cities and towns. that would lower the tax is around businesses and commercial industry that comes into rhode island. they would be favorable to doing that and by coming in and creating jobs, the people would pay the taxes required to pay the tools. the interesting part on fixed incomes to stay in the hall because the tax rate would be a blessing. it would ease some of the housing burden i think and i also think that the keeping of the local school committee would allow the local school committee to focus on education and education priorities rather than in terms of contractual obligations. i think in a holistic sense, you

cannot stop the problem by saying businesses come in, take the money and then after they're done with the state of rhode island as they leave. >> moderator: ms. raimondo, you're both of your opponents talk about lowering taxes. is there a reason it's not a high point in your planned? raimondo: for some essay, mayor fung says the way you pay for this is because of his record in cranston. his record in cranston if he has continued to raise taxes. came into office and year after year after year raise property taxes on working family and commercial property taxes, which turns businesses away. he even taxed cars on cars valued as little as $500. his new plan he wants to cut corporate taxes. tax cuts for companies, tax increase to working families. that is what is crippling rhode island.

but we need to do, we need to have an affordable, competitive tax structure. i supported the general assembly when they lower the corporate tax rate this past session and now we are the lowest in new england. i worked so hard on pension reform and his art he saved the taxpayers of rhode island hundreds of millions of dollars. what we need to do is controller cost and be smarter about how we spend and then invest in growth, invest in infrastructure, rebuild schools, put people to work. >> moderator: i let you respond briefly because they need to move on. someone sure. i think they trust what i've done in the city of cranston and for the past three years we have not had to raise property taxes. we've rolled up our sleeves, made hard decisions, even reforming our pension system the right way, negotiating with the settlement they shaved $6 million off our required

contribution. meanwhile, we were also innovating like a discussed about consolidation and growing our business base. i'm proud of the environment we create in cranston, adding over 1000 new jobs just in my first two terms and we are still convinced to see businesses grow, not only big as this is, that small businesses like arkady san antonio's as well. that is the leadership we need to make her stayed open for business. >> moderator: let's move to set date for next question. state officials have not figured out how to fund the state health insurance exchange even though obamacare must be financially self-sufficient by december 2015. so tonight, rather than speak rather than speaking in general terms about health care, i want you to tell us specifically how

you would help rhode island going forward. let's start with mr. healey. healey: i don't think i would consider funding it. i would turn it back to the federal government for his views on not end. >> would you be concerned about the federal government taking back the grants that have given the states to get it going already? healey: the federal government was the way to go to implement the pro-program. there are problems that will happen at the midterm elections in terms of what is going to be allowed and not allowed and i think rhode island is on the limb on their program on it. >> do you agree? back to the federal government? raimondo: i don't agree. ever rhode islander deserves access to high-quality health care. rhode island has done an excellent job in ruling out the exchange. so i would keep it in rhode island. first, we have to take a hard

look at it and see if there's any ways to reduce the cost. secondly, we need to be created. i would not put a surcharge on policyholders because rhode island families are struggling as it is. i'm very than the possibility of licensing and selling it to other states because it is something rhode island has done such a good job of. i understand other states are interested in it and that could be a revenue stream. i will tell you recently my daughter had strep throat and we woke up in the morning and she was sick and we quickly called the pediatrician, got her in there, tested positive for strep and got a ride on the medication. and it occurred to me, every parent deserves the opportunity to do that for their kids, to have health insurance and access to good care. that is exactly what health care provides. we have to find a way to fund

it. >> he received a regional marketplace? raimondo: yes, exactly. which i believe over time. they reduce health care costs for small business. rhode island is very fortunate that we have exchanged that other states. but the cost is the big issue when they ran out. they get a realistic idea, especially when that idea is between 22 by $26 million. look at the number of what it is. first, we have to really find out what the expense drivers are otherwise causing so much. take a look at options such as private exchanges to see whether or not they can do that function in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. let's also take a look at

whether or not some of the bells and whistles that are part of the exchange are truly needed such as do we really need the call center operations to provide that service went from my understanding of the individuals might not be licensed brokers. why not let the insurers themselves into the question. second, we should take a look at the exchange because it's a better function in other states, particularly massachusetts to see whether it could be a revenue opportunity for us. so if we can cut or expensive to make up for dollars, that is one of the ways i would consider keeping the exchange and a lower cost. it has to be at a lower cost. if we can get the cost down, guess i would consider moving it up to the federal system and having them run it because it is performing a lot better than the initial rollout because getting access to health insurance is important to all rhode islanders and i heard that on the trail as well. >> moderator: candidates, we

are more than halfway through the debate. i will pick up the pace to cover a few more topics. this is a rapidfire section. i'm looking for a one-word answers. left to right and then alternate the order. ms. raimondo, do you support or oppose the constitutional convention? raimondo: at this time i opposed it. >> moderator: mr. fung. fung: i supported. healey: i support it with reservations based on the policies involved in. >> moderator: mr. healey, would you sign of the other would establish a legal market for licensed businesses to sell marijuana to adults 21 years of age or older? have to guess. >> moderator: mr. fung. fung: i will take a wait and see legalization of marijuana. >> moderator: ms. raimondo. raimondo: also wait-and-see. healey: i want to keep the voter i.d. law. fung: i think it is functioning well and i will vote to see if it works.

>> moderator: okay, let us know how that works out. >> moderator: ms. raimondo, do you want to keep or repeal? raimondo: if they put a bill on my desk, i would sign it. >> moderator: okay. ms. raimondo commend you support or oppose driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants? raimondo: support. fung: i do not support. healey: a reticulated position where he believe they should be driving papers and insurance requirements, but not necessarily an idea of the form of a drivers license. >> moderator: finally, we will start with you, mr. healey. you opposed the bond referendum questions on the ballot? subs you know, i do not. >> moderator: you support all of them? healey: i didn't say that either. but the issues raised may be of interest to this state and i could support some of them. i'm going to take a wait-and-see

attitude as to how it develops in terms are reading up on it before the election. >> moderator: mr. fung, do you opposed? fung: i support all the initiatives. >> moderator: ms. raimondo. raimondo: i support them all. >> mr. fung committed scriber savas birchers, but you've also been endorsed by right to life. you got their endorsement because you support commonsense measures limitations, a lot of the kinds of stuff we oppose. by specific measures of backing do support quite >> moderator: this issue has come up repeatedly and the issue has always been clear. i've always identified as pro-choice with commonsense limitations and restrictions that many rhode islanders also support. i do not support late-term abortions and certainly, certainly do not support partial birth abortions. i respect both sides of the issue and as governor i will not do anything to stand in the way

of a woman's right to make your own health care decisions. >> moderator: okay, any legislation supported by right to life you opposed because you're pro-choice? fung: i am not sure what legislation they put forward. >> moderator: you've been strongly criticized by catholic tobin says he got the endorsement of planned parenthood last month. he said at the time we support repeal the 1997 state law, but your campaign is also sent you late-term abortion. how do you square your position there? raimondo: yes, thank you. i'm a pro-choice candidate. i am also catholic and i respect the church's position and in my own private life i accept that it follow that. but as governor, i will be the governor for all the people of rhode island, including those who have different religious views than i do. i've been very clear on this. i would support a ban on

late-term abortions as long as their provision for the life and the health of the woman. currently in rhode island, there is a law on the books banning late-term abortions, but it's unconstitutional. it's not been enforced. it's not doing any good. the only point that i was making is that it makes no sense to keep a law on the book if it's not being enforced. i am a practical person, not an ideologue. if you want to have a ban on late-term abortions with provision for the life and health of the woman, then i would support that. >> moderator: dated him in what language the u.s. supreme court if it is constitutional. you would find one of those bills? raimondo: yes, yes. >> there was obviously a firestorm of planned parenthood of people can debate where that came from. do you regret not the way you spoke the way he spoke at a

press conference. was it a mistake? raimondo: i don't. the interesting thing is that when asked in a position on late-term abortion. the very first time someone asked in my position, i was very clear. i would support a ban on late-term abortion that had provision for the life of the women. it's a very difficult issue. it is a hard issue of ready to approach it with reasonableness and kindness and sensitivity. again as i say, i respect and appreciate where the catholic church is coming from. >> mr. fung, you don't sound too far apart on it. to your major differences in your opinion? fung: i can tell you i have not use divisive issues that are personal for individuals as a part of a campaign. when i've been on the campaign trail, the sole issue that i have been promoting and talking about is making our state more open for business, cutting through the red tape, implementing the $200 million tax reduction plan and getting people back to work in getting the jobs here in the state.

>> moderator: mr. healey, your partner a social liberal who supports the right to abortion. these support limits on that right? healey: i respect the individual and i think the individual has to make the decision because the individual has to live with that decision for the rest come in this case, her life. as far as i'm concerned, i think i would have no problem supporting abortion in terms of state law. however, i would be very concerned because i think the state has an obligation to minors and so i could see restrictions in that area. >> moderator: ms. raimondo, you heard mr. fung do you campaign on these issues. raimondo: you know, that is not true. if anyone has been clear about their running, i'm running for governor in the jobs crisis. i would like to take a minute. the references to hundred

billion dollars tax cut. let's be clear what that would do. in the double our budget deficit in the first year alone. it is a reckless plan that would double the budget deficit with painful cuts to education, workforce training, higher education. it would hurt working families and take a bad economy and make it worse. and he knows it's unrealistic because the first thing he did for the first three budgets he submitted in cranston he raised taxes. so it's time to be realistic. let's have affordable taxes. let's invest in growth to get people back to work. >> obviously a late response, mr. fung. someone in the providence journal a couple weeks ago with renewed leading business owners in the state of rhode island and i'm proud to former dean and distinguish business professor called me $200 million tax plan pro-business, pro-economic about rent and pro-job creation here that is what we need regulators

want to tackle the problems of our state with a sense of urgency and that is what my plan will do. and my experience and cut into the red tape and working to build a better business environment in cranston is evident. take a look at the essential part of the city. it is thriving now. this should be happening in every city and town across the state in that is what i intend to do as your next governor. >> moderator: let's go to a question from a ed fitzpatrick. >> he recently sent a platform document that you voted 2016 if you read no other document produced by my campaign, please read this one. well, i read it. i noticed at one point he said he believed that the large-scale entry of women into the american workforce has caused the detriment to the society that may be beyond repair. that is a provocative statement. can you explain what you meant. healey: sure, sounds misogynistic on the surface.

but it's a supply and demand of labor. what was forgot to do when we allowed women to enter the workplace, we forgot to say hey, there's extra laborers coming in. in the same document, as you know, i say that i think the best person should be working instead of having two people working at the same amount of wages. what happened is if you dilute the workforce, you drive down the cost of labor. what labor is cheap, two people have to work in a home world that one has to work in the past. if you read the document, you would know that it's clearly not in a statement against woman entering into the workplace. i think far more superior, especially now in terms of getting into the workplace and getting into higher positions. we see that in higher education. i think what would've happened if we had merged the workforce and set of throwing everyone into it, labor could've stayed high. the parent that is best able to

take care of the children could stay home and we would still have a thriving economy. to add so many people into the labor force pushes the price of labor down and in doing that, it forces everyone to have two working parents and then we lose our home life. >> moderator: okay, with just a little over 10 minutes before closing statements. we'll pick up the pace a little bit. an independent group with democratic ties is planning an attack ad aimed at you, mr. fung with problems in the cranston state police department. also chiming in on why you haven't released an internal affairs reporter state report examines the ticketing candle in your city. we do that before the november election? fung: first of all, they got the facts incorrect. what i asked them to do when they came into the city of cranston was to do a top to bottom review of the police department.

that report hasn't been prepared yet. i have always acted with transparency and we are going to act on that report. it is a new day and the city of cranston and their police department. we have a new cheaper and in the department together for the best interest of our residents. >> moderator: my question was specifically about the ticketing scandal. that is close to the city has made a decision on that. is there an internal affairs report and if so, will you release it? fung: can i just correct you, that matter is not closed. we did hold the officer accountable and we are moving forwards do with the bill of rights process because the officer does have its rights. i cannot speak because it is still tied up in the bill of rights process. >> moderator: mid-raimondo, the ad raises questions on why the formal kernel was given a pension after the scandal, but the state police cleared him in the ticketing case and he did serve 27 years as a police officer. do you agree that colonel

palombo shouldn't get a pension? .. the next day a group of police officers were so emboldened by viticulture he created that they went on a ticketing spree. and instead of calling for an outside investigation he, for months, followed it

until finally the city council was about to call in the state police and so he did. that is the same story of we hear over and over, abuse of power, a culture of favoring insiders. it is time to move on. i have dealt with the pension, taking on the system, changing that culture. >> moderator: your response. fung: we all recognize in this situation we acted decisively. i started an investigation immediately and ended up calling in the state police. and, no, it was not a group of officers. it was one officer, and we held them accountable. our chief did resign, and i am tired of having your wall street interests, outside millionaires funding these attack ads and distorting truth and record. let's talk about the issue.

their is a new day with in the police department, but i also have a question about your judgment. we already heard about you hiring back the same financial advisers that were sued for fraud. i am also sitting here questioning your judgment as you sit on the board of rhode island housing when we just heard in the paper that they were fined for inappropriately using a million dollars of federal fund. where were you? you were asleep at the switch. i did not hear you speaking out about what was going on, treasurer. these are judgments styles. we have acted decisively, and i will act decisively. >> moderator: i will have you wait and. i'm sorry. i will have you in a moment. raimondo: well, first of all

, there was no decisive action. he fumbled and mismanaged it for months until finally the state police came into takeover. it rhode island -- rhode island housing, obviously i do not run it. i have a seat on the board. we called for an audit, are working through it, and they will be held accountable. we are monitoring it, and if there was wrongdoing and will be immediately taken care of. he has overseen personally a police department for years where there has been scandal after scandal after scandal, a culture of not holding people accountable and favoring insiders, the culture of favoring insiders which has held this state back for too long. >> moderator: we would off the rails for a little bit, but winning it back. healey: it is interesting both of these people are speaking about transparency and getting facts up to the

public. one is not putting out enough, and the other is not showing enough transparency. and it is all being played out on a stage of where campaign funding is forcing these issues. you're not talking about the future of ryland. we are bickering between people who have problems with each other over management style. this is what is happening in rhode island that it's has wound up in this situation and not advancing because we like to blame each other instead of working together. it is politically expedient, keeps money flowing from different sources, keep people apart. if we want to solve problems we have to work together, have a transparent government command be able tax as our documents and leaders in a way that makes the people in charge. >> moderator: the next question. >> from a viewer. i will stick with you about

the 2011 pension. would you support starting to pay retirees an annual cost-of-living adjustment again which were suspended under law? healey: the whole pension situation needs to be discussed far more fully. i looked, and i really think that we have a problem. it is not over. we have put that problem off as long as we have litigation on the matter. that could have been solved. i mean, i looked at the rhode island constitution, and before it was implemented the governor who was working with the treasurer at the time could have gone to the supreme court and asked whether it would stand constitutional muster. there would have given a written answer at that point in time and avoid the controversy and problems that we have. we have moral obligations and yet we have no problem

saying we have no moral obligation to the people that actually work for our states, give and nursing services and other services to the people of our state. i find that's to be far out of the realm of reality to think that we need to it -- [applause] -- to think that we need to pay back people who do not live in our state because we have a moral obligation and then to the people that actually work for us. i am lost. >> moderator: we will go to you with this same question. fung: first of all, i think all the rhode islanders recognize that pension reform had to be taken on at the state and local level. where i have problems with the general treasurer is how it got done. we reached the same solution by sitting across the table

and negotiating with labor unions and still coming to a result that avoided costly class-action because we were able to get a good majority of the people -- >> moderator: i apologize. would you advocate for bringing back the cost of living increases? fung: we are in a lawsuit and have to wait and see what happens. the bottom line for me is, this system calls into question for me and the voters of rhode island and the general treasures' judgment. we have seen how she wants to act unilaterally. we have also seen how where she has responsibility over investment, she is paying significantly more in fees than the last general treasurer, 70 million more. $3,702,000,000 lost opportunity. >> moderator: so we don't run out of time i need to let others weigh in.

raimondo: okay. when i came into office i inherited a system in crisis a 48% funded, one of the worst in the country, and all the politicians before me turned a blind eye. i worked with the general assembly, brought everyone together, and solve the problem. the system is healthier than it has ever been, and 90 percent of the members of the general assembly voted for it. the system is healthier than it has ever been so that people's pensions will be there for them and we do not have to relive the pain and suffering of people in central falls lost pensions and homes and health insurance. now, in great contrast meir allan fung also inherited a system in crisis. he made some small changes, and it is now about 20 percent funded, about the same level funded, and he did not even find it 100 percent every year. those are the same games politicians have been playing with pensions

forever and is what led to central falls comprehending the problem is smaller than it is and not finding it properly. what i did is hard politics, but it had to be done. as to the question of a lawsuit, yes, there is a lawsuit. i spend a year-and-a-half in mediation. we came up with a solution. i wish the union members had voted for it, but the end of the day a leader ax in the face of crisis and solves a problem. that is what i did. >> moderator: 30 seconds across the board. yes are no. would you sign a bill supporting binding arbitration for teachers. raimondo: no. fung: no. healey: in no case for closing remarks now. each of the candidates have a chance to make a closing remark. a reminder to the audience, please hold your applause until all three candidates have finished. again, the order for closing

statements was determined by drawing. we begin with gina raimondo. your closing remarks. raimondo: thank-you to all of you at home watching tonight. it is time to rebuild rhode island, and i am running for governor to create tens of thousands of middle-class jobs and put rhode island back to work, especially manufacturing jobs. my dad worked for 26 years at a factory in providence providing a good, middle-class life from my family, my brother, sister, and i. then his job went overseas, like so many. and our leaders did very little to recreate our economy. i am running for governor with a plan, a comprehensive jobs plan to rebuild manufacturing, to retrain workers, invest in infrastructure and put people to work rebuilding roads, schools, and bridges. it is not a time for reckless cuts that will hurt

families and turn this state back. it is time to rebuild and move this stage ford. >> moderator: thank you. now mr. robert healey. healey: thank you. i am looking to rebuild our rhode island from the foundation. we have gone too far in the building, and the structure is not stable. what we have to do is return to that point where we actually have a society that encourages jobs, works for the education of our children, has a reasonable tax system. in doing this, we can bring ourselves into a competitive state. and also we can keep our children in this state by providing employment opportunities. if we think that we will build our way out, it is just not going to happen. it is fantasy. what we have to do is look at what we have come and go

back to the basic structure and restore freedom and liberty to the people. that is why i am running for governor. >> moderator: thank you. fung: thank-you. tonight we heard a clear choice between a very different plans for the future of our state. rhode island needs a proven leader with a bold plan and a sense of urgency in the right skill set to turn our state around. tonight you heard about my record of real results and reform. and my plan will reduce taxes by $200 million. my plan will put 20,000 rhode islanders back to work , and my plan will make our state one of the most business friendly in the northeast. we need a leader ready from day one. as you have seen, real leaders produce real results

i don't want the title of governor. i want the job and responsibility. from the day i announced my goal has been to get rhode islanders back to work. >> moderator: thank-you. now to our studio audience, your chance to applaud the candidates. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> moderator: we want to thank the providence performing arts center for hosting us tonight. that does it for our campaign 2014 gubernatorial debate. be sure to watch eyewitness news on fox province after the baseball game and at 11 on wpri 12 for a complete wrap up as well as expert analysis. you can also follow our

coverage online. you will find of latest eyewitness news, of providence journal poll. election day is november 4th with most polls opening at 7:00 a.m. check with the secretary state website for yorktown's exact time. polls close at eight. make sure you bring a valid photo id. good night from the providence performing arts center. ♪ >> c-span campaign 2014 coverage continues with a series of debates starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern with the new hampshire senate debate.

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books notes. >> c-span 2015 student camera competition is under way. 150 prizes totaling $100,000. create a 5-7 minute documentary on the three branches and you. videos need to include c-span programming, show varying points of view, and must be submitted by january 20th, 2015. grab a camera and get started today. ♪ >> coming up next on c-span2 , a conversation about social media impact on the careers of politicians like anthony weiner, george allen, and rick perry. also of the use of social media by political campaigns and policymakers.

this is 45 minutes. >> all right. well, thank you for being here. every year i look forward to coming. it is an honor to be here this year, my first on the board. and even an organization devoted ted dedicated americans and having a friendly conversation among fellow patriots. as we find all too often, winning tough policy battles when pitted against a well while the machine of a political idea -- political ideologue is a different matter. we must not only have the right information pepe prepared to communicate effectively. digital media presents an exciting venue to it connect directly with policy and lancers and voters alike. increasingly mainstream

desire media eclipse as with the tools we would like to use. it is an exceptional opportunity to have to seasoned professionals who have been engaged in online battles and won the national policy fights. together they publish an e-mail that delivers an overview of the top news of the day with a conservative yet a funny sense. if you don't already you can subscribe through their e-mail. the creative genius comes partly from extensive experience. ericka anderson is the digital manager for the heritage foundation currently managing their vast social media presence. previously she was a political reporter in human events, digital strategist for the house republican conference and communications director at the u.s. house. erik telford is one of the original leaders of the conservative movement online

. a counterweight. today he serves as senior vice president at the franklin center for government and public integrity. perhaps his proudest accomplishment was being named the number two worst person in the world, a truly exceptional accomplishment. [laughter] so take a moment to look up from facebook and join me in welcoming ericka anderson and erik telford. [applause] >> well, thank you for that wonderful introduction. get a call from your parents saying, the neighbors just called and said the are the second worst person in the world. we are so proud of you.

well, thank you for having us out. our colleague was coined to be joining us. unfortunately he had a personal situation arise. sorry, we are twice as fine. i am erik telford with the franklin center. pleased to be joined by ericka anderson. our information is up there as well. we will talk about that at the end and what we do and if it is something you're interested in getting involved in. how many of you are on facebook? that is very good. twitter? how many of you have a block how many of you are on youtube? have your own channel?

how many of you have a kid or grand kid who shows you how to do things on a computer? [laughter] wonderful. the hardest part about presentations like this and the point we want to make is ultimately how everyone in the room can make a difference. if you are afraid of technology, don't be. there are so many things to help you allow you to have a huge impact. if you want to learn how to use these tools and are a novice, we have a stack of business cards. we both have associates at our offices you can send you resources were guides or get on the phone and walk you through signing up. our goal today is to talk a little bit about the case studies that show the impact of on-line tools and how it is transforming a political landscape. tuck the benefits -- this is

a huge opportunity. this is a study conducted by the american journalism review that shows a 30% drop in the number of reporters covering state level politics from 2003-2009. mainstream media is laying off reporters left and right they cannot afford to support journalists who can tell us what is happening. the biggest threat to freedom and prosperity occurs when no one is paying attention. it is not the local school board meetings, committee hearings where no one is there to tell us what decisions are being made. the ironic thing about the steady in 2009 because they ran out of money to continue the study. the larger point here is that old media is dying. of course is still has a lot of sway and cannot be ignored, but when you look

at radio, newspaper, television, they are on the decline. digital tools, the resources we have available online are vastly increasing in in florence. we are facing a major paradigm shift. the way we can send information has fundamentally changed in the digital age. so many tools at our disposal and studies show a major loss of trust by the public in a major media institutions. what people trust is what they hear from their friend. many of you see this on facebook or twitter, what your friends e-mail you, that is where people get their information now. it is a self selecting media environment. we decided we follow on facebook and twitter. so the connections you have, you have the ability to influence them and, in fact, a responsibility to make sure we get the right information to the public in an effective way. the other aspect is when you look at old media,

television, radio, print, you could get angry and write a letter to the editor pete you could get angry and called talk radio. you could call the television station and tell them to cover story. there is nothing standing between you and your ability to get a message out with online tools which is why we see them so successful and effective. right now you can act as soon as you get the information, i tweeted out, sharon on facebook, e-mail it to people, be an activist for information share at the moment you are consuming the news. there are three important areas that we will touch upon today that we think he should at least be aware of. you don't have to be someone who sits behind your tv all day, but you should at least be aware whether you are a

donor, activist, supporter, elected official, candidate, work at a nonprofit. you should know the impact these tools have and the importance they have when you think about strategies are ways not just for yourself to get involved but for those organizations and other efforts you are lined with. i want to talk about politics and advocacy, campaigns and elections and the shifting tide of media and journalism as well. the biggest thing i get when i talk to people about this topic is, okay. you are on twitter, facebook, preaching to acquire, talking to a small bubble of people, does not make an impact. a few examples i am sure you're all familiar with that would never have been possible before the advent of the internet. how many of you remember dan rather? we can now call the former anchor of cbs evening news because of a report he ran on president bush's national

guard service during the 2004 reelection campaign. the mainstream media picked up the story well beyond cbs , and became a major issue in the campaign. a conservative blogger posted the documents dan rather had used as the basis for his story, and it was a typewriter expert in montana looked at that document and said that typeset used to create this did not exist when it was created. forced the mainstream media to it coverage which led to an investigation which led to the downfall of dan rather. can you imagine someone calling cbs news and saying, i'm a typewriter expert in montana and have to tell you something about dan rather? i don't think it would have made up the food chain. how many of you remember george allen? he was headed toward what looked like a landslide reelection to his u.s. senate seat in 2006.

and if he thought he was the leading contender for the u.s. republican presidential nomination in 2008 until a video tracker following him got on his nerves so much he pointed to the guy -- he claims it was a term he made up, but liberal blogger found an ancient moroccan racial slur that apparently is associated with that term it became a defining issue of the remainder of his reelection campaign. he could have stayed in bed and been handily reelected. unfortunately, he did not. but this youtube moment brought down his political career. below him, a prominent official in the obama administration who was not properly vented, certainly not by the media. activists across the country

started to uncover all of this information from his past, his involvement during the riots of rodney king in los angeles, and am saying that he is a socialist in saying that green energy initiatives are a tool to redistribute wealth to impoverished african american communities. it was not reported by the mainstream media. traction on line. glenn beck picked it up. the first tory iran was he resigned. before that they did not even touch it. never would have happened before mainstream media. a major year for republican sweeping control of congress considered probably the safest incumbent democrat in the country in a rural district. in fact, there were not even going to put up a nominee against him. a tea party activist who had never been involved in politics decided that it was not right.

everyone deserves a challenge. i will run, and thank god she did read a student confronted him. rather than responding he grabbed a student by the arm and started twisting it. you can hear this student in the video saying, let me go, please let me go. a very aggressive. the video went viral and is now why he is former congressman. of course anthony weiner, i won't go into details about that. i'm sure most of you are familiar. most of the media was probably off at the beach enjoy a holiday. conservatives blogger and social media activists picked up on it and would not let it die and forced the media to cover it. if that had not happened anthony weiner would probably still be in congress or higher office. a republican one that seat

for the first time in over 100 years. again, none of this could have happened before the age of the internet. so even if you are just sharing something, e-mailing , hitting that like button on the facebook, reached tweeting age, you can have a huge impact. it is important because it drives mainstream media coverage that drives policy agenda increasing activism and spreads the message to a broader audience. one example is governor rick perry in texas indicted on two felony counts from the district attorney who was caught drunk driving the other year. she had, i think, three times the illegal blood alcohol limit and was in charge of the public integrity unit holding politicians in texas accountable. have any have you seen a video? not just the arrest video where she cannot even walk a jagged line but when she is booked, she is kicking the

door, screaming for the sheriff to come, let her go to my being of verbally and physically abusive to the people who are taking her into custody. what i thought was really, i got a political news alert to my e-mail st. rick perry in that none to felony counts. threatening to veto funding to a district attorney who wanted to resign but was moving on and then i saw all the stuff erupt on twitter. and i thought, they don't mention her name or talk about her drunk driving incident. they're trying to empty and rick perry and not explain the context of why he threatens to veto that funding. someone in charge of public integrity in this state of texas driving around with that half bottle of vodka, perry sought no and threatened to veto it unless she resigned. that was not included, but when i got home was the only

thing i saw online which forced the mainstream media to cover it and got to the point where the new york times and obama's adviser called this investigation inappropriate and clearly political retribution. so that shows the power of the internet. let's go back for one second. when you think about tom delay for ted stevens, so many politicians whose careers have been ruined and later exonerated because of that time that it happened there were not the tools are savvy to fight back. and i think rick perry is a tremendous example of turning to a felony indictments against him into a political plus. now he is the talk of the 2016 field, and everyone is rallying behind him. i think that really, truly shows the power of the internet. we hear a lot about the digital divide, especially in the fallout from the 2008

and 2012 election. it is true, there is a major divide from the left is and where we are on line. a lot of that is not due to any lack of enthusiasm. it is the organization is not taking a advantage of and using appropriate tools to engages in campaigns or organizations. in 2008, for example, barack obama launched his own social media website. we all know he is a very humble guy. 2 million members, and he used that to organize and mobilize people. the hosted 200,000 offline events, generated millions of pieces of content on line, blog posts, tweets, facebook post slick got the message out by early on the internet, using as a tool to mobilize an army being fund-raisers on his behalf, and it was the backbone of

his get-out-the-vote operation that led to his 2008 victory. they know if you mentioned big bird and a certain area of the impact that would have on polling, whereas mitt romney get out the vote tool could not connect because it was never tested. down the drain because they never tested it from the facility it would be run from. clearly there is a digital divide. one thing that exemplifies more than anything else the approach, not always about the tools but the approach and the way you use elementary tools to engage activists, things that we can come up with ourselves in terms of tactics if we do not have the tools, the iphone application obama did in 2008. it would take all of your contacts and look up the area code from their phone number and prioritize them by swing states. how many of you did robo

call? you hear the delay. how many of you actually stay online to listen to them? one hand up. i hang up immediately. if i get a call from my mother, brother, best friend, i will take it and listen to them. so people were calling friends and saying, hey, listen, i am supporting barack obama and here is why. i hope you will, to. they would revert back to the screen saying likely voter, and likely voters, undecided. they would press the applicable button. it all went back to the obama database to follow up. meanwhile, my phone was getting inundated by robo calls from john mccain or others. and that is about an approach. more than anything else, whether you do it online or in person -- some of you are involved and activist groups out of curiosity, how many

of you are just a citizen, an activist versus being an elected official or with an organization? if you are an activist, raise your hand. if your with and organizations for an elected official, raise your hand. [laughter] now that he stayed for this presentation -- [laughter] we always like to see more citizen hands than politicians. we have a better balance. it goes back to the principles of community organizing. this is something we attacked obama for, nothing more than a community organizer. that is probably the only thing he is good that. we should give him credit for it, not derided but learn from it. this is a wheel that shows the principles of community organizing, and i think they are worth talking through because they highlight the mistakes and flaws or ineffective use that people and organizations often use -- make when using social

media. first and foremost, social media is not about blasting your message out. that is broadcast, television, newspaper, radio . again, you can scream back, but they won't hear you. you can write a letter to the editor, everything we talked about, but they control the information. the internet is a conversation. if you want to engage people, you have to talk to them. when you talk to people, you have to listen to what they have to say. organizations will say, let's use facebook or twitter tap most press releases or pushed and had made for television. i want to tell people what is going on. you have to listen, ask questions. if you want people to take time and get involved, take time away from their families, businesses, jobs to get involved, you have to make him feel like part of the community, and that

requires them to listen. we ran a petition. the first time we ask why you were signing the petition. i think 90 percent of the people filled out the why. amazing stories that we got from people that we were able to tell the media. take the time to listen. at that goes to relationship building. it is not about, i have one more person following me on twitter. that is one more potential relationship that you can connect with and mobilize them on your behalf for your campaign or organization to advance our cause or message challenge. a getty example is the scott brown senate race, not the current one, but when ted kennedy passed away and people fought a republican will never win a massachusetts senate seat. there were people who stood up and said, why not? let's do this. let's donate money, send

buses and volunteers. if we did not have people who stepped out in front end to more than they otherwise would, we would never win. it is important to remember to challenge people. and that goes to action. give people things to do be angry and make a phone call. here is the phone number to the capitol switchboard. turn out to your representative's district office. give people things to do, and you will be amazed at what they will do for you. when i started working, i complained star fund-raiser, white on people give us more money to do stuff with the internet? it is so important. he said, the owners don't wake up every day and say, how can i help eric. you have to ask people. if you want people to do something you have to ask them. evaluation and reflection, and that think that goes to listening. take time to step back. is what you are doing

effective? are you getting input? are you doing what you can to refine need and make sure you are putting the best of foot forward possible to ensure success? and finally celebration. sometimes we move on so quickly that we forget to celebrate, think people, and include people as a part of that celebration to make sure that they know their hard work was appreciated. i will quickly move through here so that we can get to ericka anderson. how do people and organizations influence policymakers with digital media? we did a survey in illinois this said the average state legislator would reconsider their position on a given piece of legislation if they got 17 phone calls from constituents. only 17. now, that was a few years ago. things have changed. tools have made it easier to contact them and perhaps it takes more. especially at the federal level and the number of communications that they did. but the great thing about

the internet is that so many elected officials run their own twitter accounts, manage their own facebook page, that you don't just get some tally from the staff. you are actually reaching them directly. some case studies that point directly to that, in texas and georgia a year, which is a tale of two states. texas and georgia politically are very red. republican controlled legislature's, governors, congressional delegations and majority republican voters in both states. when it comes to a new media taxes at least until recently was actually a very blues state. it was run by a few guys who would go to the state capital and blog what was happen during a legislative session watching the state level equivalent of c-span plotting about what was happening. i had an opportunity to meet with the speaker of the

state house he said it has gotten to the point where public policy makers are not engaging our fellow lawmakers in debate on issues. we are getting in an argument with a liberal blogger in the gallery. and if you look in the chamber almost every member as their computer screen and are reading what this person thinks of them. the ability of one person to be a distraction at that level and one of our largest state legislatures is incredible. the same thing in georgia, a conservative blog, the same affect. if you look across the legislature they're is a picture of the computer screens open to that blog. it happened in virginia. the political commentator on tv. this is not him. and he was upset with away one lawmaker voted and put a post about it. so when so voted outside the interest of their district and i will make sure come election time his constituents remember and

e-mail the to the staff of the lawmaker. the lawmaker walked off the floor, his staff members showed it to him. he turned around and change his vote. in california, we have a conservative blog called a flash report. the ability of them to put up the post and change the mind your vote of elected officials is absolutely incredible. do not think that you cannot make a difference. at the federal level a great example from january 2012. a debate about online intellectual property protection. there were a lot of major free-speech concerns that arose and other issues of it not being well thought out legislation. and so you can see from the -- twitter officially sent out a tweet on their own sank two and a half million people put out related tweets. within one day -- and these are just a couple of examples. there were dozens.

lawmakers not only stating they flipped their position on the bill but people who sponsored the bill saying, i am withdrawing my sponsorship of the bill. harry reid, in light of recent events, i decided to postpone the vote. dozens of others. so these are, i think, examples that both the state and federal level that people can have an impact. you don't have to be someone who does eight hours a day. okay. i have got like to more and and i am done. transforming the way we communicate with policymakers, candid it's, and the media and how they communicate with us, a congressman from utah is in his congressional office every week and gives a check to his constituents about what is going on in washington, bypassing the mainstream media and getting his message directly to the public. ..

to reconvene congress and pulled the boat. after the presidential elections in 2009, "cnn" you remember the protests at the beginning of the arab spring. "cnn" was covering entertainment news that we can while every other major media outlets was covering what was going on in

iran. before "cnn" to switch their coverage to what was happening. finally, this really showed how off-base or sometimes an effective the mainstream media is. nobody saw the eric cantor lost coming pretty with stunning to so many people. the mainstream media said he was polling at 34 points points ahead and it ended up losing by 12 points on primary day june 10. but if you look at google trends which is a tool that shows how many people are searching the given term on google at any time in the weeks leading up to eric cantor's loss there was a massive increase in searches for dave bratt and if you look at twitter you can see that there was a huge advantage occurring. eric cantor had 53 people who were tweeting hemorrhaging only 26 other people and dave bratt had 34 people re-tweeting him reaching more than 4 million people.

that is it 20 times greater reach than eric cantor had. there were definite signs at a time that we didn't see on line digitally but never occurred in the mainstream media that were never reported and i think that shows the diminished power they have with that and i will turn things over to ericka andersen to talk about campaign related things in the media and then if we have time i would love to take your questions. thank you all so much. [applause] >> all right. talking about the campaign candidacy aspect of this i wanted to talk a little bit about how the issue of announcing your candidacy has changed. in the past and a lot of

candidates do this still, candidacy included blasting it out to reporters holding a conference call and maybe as an afterthought sending e-mails to bloggers. bloggers were not a priority. it was kind of an afterthought but things have changed to one great example of that is senator ted cruise and how he started his campaign for the senate. the first thing he did was hold a conference call. press releases are dead. i don't know that ted cruise even sans press releases and i would recommend most politicians rethink that strategy because most of the time people are not paying attention to that. as a user of twitter i get so many i get some money though still today and i always have to leave. you have to get my attention and some other way. ted cruise tweeted out that he was running for senate. twitter has been a huge rivalry for ted cruise and he does a lot of it on his own. he has made it a huge priority and it's made a major difference.

another person that we are to talk about, rick perry he also announced his candidacy in the same way and he has also made twitter a huge priority. if you look at it, ted cruise and rick perry are two of the most popular people in the republican party right now that's not an accident. they have made numidia twitter bloggers they have made them a priority and it shows because they bypass the mainstream media and get the message out in a way that they want to get their message out. i think that's a trend that other politicians need to follow. instead of giving your information in the power to the mainstream maybe you are empowering your supporters and giving them the power to support you on line and get the message out. and both cruz and perry and several other politicians continue this while they were in office. in a working the political field working in journalism and indications since 2006 i have

met ted cruz probably five or six times because he makes himself available to people on a regular basis. he is the guy you see at the blogger conferences. he is the guy that comes to the blogger briefing at the heritage foundation that we host every month. he is accessible. he is not an elitist and i think that's something a lot of politicians need to keep in mind. other politicians who might take note of that are doing it right on line include running for congress in maryland bumpy now. i'm highly impressed with him. you should see the kind of things he puts kind of things he puts out on facebook page and a personable he is and he runs in instagram account talking about all kinds of things that he thinks are interesting. it's not just policy and politics. he's a real person and people like him. other people marco rubio president obama debbie wasserman schultz john cornyn mike lee kathy mcmorris rogerson cory booker. i wanted to showcase people from the left on the right just because i think we need to learn

from both sides and getting to my powerpoint please. sorry. these are the people you want to look too. now in addition to how policymakers change their campaigns may their campaigns media's campaigns media's diversifying and that's something we need to pay attention to. the nations leading newspapers increase in readership every year. the maritimes "wall street journal." every year you see their reach is going down and that's because we are seeing the rise of all these other web sites that are giving information. people are consuming news in a different way. people are consuming more news on the devices on different web sites and the american press institute study actually said americans prefer different reporting sources for different subjects. someone is not going to go to one place to get their news on

every subject. that's where we have a lot of specialized web sites and that's due to journalists and bloggers and people who have created new platforms that specialize in information and have become really important. a pew research study also showed big -- comprised of hundreds of sites working to fill the gaps left by legacy reporting. the smaller pr marketing world you can't go to a conference or any -- anywhere these days without hearing them talking about targeting specialized outreach. it's not just a big tv ads. it's not just the newspaper ads. it's about the smaller bloggers. it's about the smaller platforms because that's where people are really influenced because its

friends and family members. it's people that they trust and respect and that's where the messages are really hitting home these days. the other thing i would say is that eric touched on this that policy organizations, politicians and brands, if one person says something negative about them on twitter they are listening. they don't want that out there in the public arena and that's why places like southwest airlines and different brands have become so good at managing pr on most platforms because once it's on twitter their reputation is going down. that's why we need to be paying attention to that more often. a study between stanford and facebook shows social media audience is four times larger than you think it is so where's you might think you don't have a lot of people, it actually multiplies multiplies on social media because even if you are just sharing it with 50 friends on facebook every action that they take if they like it if they shared in a comment on a

that has multiplied into the friends that you have that they don't have been there so much more potential than you think there is which is why i wish people would realize how important is that they use these platforms for themselves and to get the information to the bloggers and the web sites. i'm trying to speed through this because i know we don't have a lot of time. according to recent study 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family of her other advertising. i would say that goes the same for policy and politicians. you will be much more likely to pay attention to an issue that your friend is talking about in facebook rather than a banner ad from a politician. you are just going to breeze past that but if someone breeze past that but if someone is giving a thoughtful perspective on facebook page on twitter are an op-ed in your local paper you will pay attention to that a lot more and that's why it matters. 81% of consumers are influenced by their friends social social media post so that goes to show you how powerful it is previously and is working in so working in so many ways through school choice is a great example.

there were a ton of small force is working tirelessly to make it known how important school choices in how kids are hindered by it if they don't have it. what do you know school interest of spreading across the country now. people have become knowledgeable about the negative consequences of common core. there were two movies made about the school choice movement and its people on the right in the left coming together. i think it's such a powerful example of how smaller voices made a big difference. additionally an organization started by a woman named lila rose. she hated what planned parenthood was doing and wanted to expose her so she went to expose as though she won in their cover with their own cameras and recorded what they were doing. then she sent it out just from our own platform. what do you know people could not ignore it because it was so powerful and expose some of the awful things that this organization was doing in their reputation has since declined. she continues to make these

videos and i am sure you have seen a lot of them. one last example james o'keefe of project veritas did the same thing as lila. he went to uncover voter fraud corruption and most recently border insecurity. nobody funded him to do this. he went out on his own and did it and now you will see "cnn" and "fox news" referring back to what he is because it's a legitimate reporting they can't be denied. he did that on its own without anyone telling him hey we are going to pay you to do this. there are so many other bloggers and journalists or citizen journalist doing that now and it's really important that we empower them and get them information that they need. coming to a close here shortly the rise of center and right sides. the heritage foundation we created the daily signal and breitbart free daily caller and many more. for longtime conservatives had

was "fox news" but that has changed. these web sites i can tell you i look at the traffic numbers. they are off the charts. millions of millions of people are going to these web sites every month and people are getting information that they would not have otherwise gotten. i can tell you the daily signal we pride ourselves on reporting under-reported stories and we think we are doing important work just like a lot of these bloggers and citizen journalists do. there are some influencers that don't have blogs and they don't have major web sites but -- of those sorry. it's hard to do two things at once. they're making a name for themselves just on twitter. holly fisher. many of you probably saw this picture. she pictured herself holding a gun in front of an american flag. a liberal took the picture and started calling her at the american taliban and putting it up next to this picture of a

soldier. obviously holly fought back and conservatives fought back for her. she went from 30,000 to over 50,000 twitter followers within two weeks and she has had, she has made such a difference in getting the message out for conservatives. i asked her to come to kurdish and talk to us about how she is doing. you can tune into that next tuesday live on line if you're interested. to close on this eric and i are working with all of these bloggers and influencers everyday. we work with breadbox social.com and heritage in the franklin center. if you want to learn more about these individuals making sure they are are heard in your messages are getting to them as well would love to talk with you. feel free to get in touch after the conference. here is their information if you want to get in touch with us. twitter is an easy way. we don't even have our e-mail up there because it's so old school.

so yeah that's pretty much all we have. i don't know that we have time for questions. >> i would say if you want to get involved we will be around for a while. if you want to learn resources that i can get on twitter or start a blog or if you need help on anything like that let us know and we will give your contact information and have someone back at our offices help you out. we will have a margarita party too. even if you just forwarded e-mail or hit the like button you know -- you have no idea what big of an impact that is. think of the 63 people versus the 860 people per day brat and what a difference that is. one thing i forgot to mention that i will close with afp we were promoting a live webcast. we have 1.3 million people and we sent one link to see how many viewers who would bring. we sent another link to an e-mail with a list of 100 top allies in social media people who would do anything we asked them and have a large following

and we got three times as many viewers from sending an e-mail to those 100 people than sending an e-mail to 1.3 million people so don't underestimate the power of you and everyone in this room to tackle networks across the country and make a difference. [applause] next on booktv prime-time, michio kaku in his book "the future of the mind." after that author james mcpherson on his biography of jefferson davis.