and based on trust and respect and the reason i know mansfield was the greatest leader is because mitch mcconnell has said so. he says mansfield's the leader he most admired except he's basically the anti-mansfield. >> the book is called ""broken, can the senate save itself and the country? this is ira shapiro. >> thank you. >> keep an eye out for more interviews from the national press club's book fair to air in the near future. you can also watch them and any of our other programs in their entirety at book tv.org. type the author's name in the search bar at the top of the page. and we're going to momentarily leave book tv for live coverage of the u.s. senate. they're getting ready for a brief pro forma session today being day ten of the of the government shutdown. we expect the next possible

votes on government shunnto tak place on wednesday. take you live to the floor of the u.s. senate, live coverage here on c-span2. senate will come to order. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., december 31, 2018. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable cory gardner, a senator from the state of colorado, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on wednesday, january 2, 2019. . >> host: and gina loudon, author of "mad politics: keeping your

sanity in a world gone crazy," is our guest here at the miami book fair. thank you so much for joining us. >> guest: pleasure to be thank you so much for joining us. >> a pleasure to be here. >> who is mad at you? >> there is a lot of vitriol out there. i think we sawaw it in the midtm elections and it's something real communications that honest and forthright can'tan cure. i don't know that's the direction we're going yet. i don't know if, i think the average rank-and-file person out there really does want to commit with people that disagree with them and learn from them and listen to them. the problem i believe and a book about this in mad politics is we become suchh clickbait media-based media that a lot of times we are not given the opportunity to really haveur cil discourse or to read the headline that is completely forthright. everybody is competing for those eyeballs, especially print media and cable news.

>> host: has donald trump contributed to our current political situation? >> guest: i know the y answer on the face would be to be yes, but i really don't think that's ever been his intention at all. i think that he swi counterpunch it. i'm not going to smooth over any of that. i'm from the midwest and in the midwest people find that amusing. they can laugh along with him and i think it's anything he has met, with maybe some people on the coasts who are more perhaps prim and proper might judge. ii think donald trump is big pat of my book, a big part of my life in fact, at the don't need to shy away from that at all but i don't know he is withstanding in what beatty has become in terms of the clickbait issue not believe ultimately polarizes us. i believe to get the attention

that need is used to have to go to make some money that they need to make they have to write some salacious headlines, report news in a salacious way. that's when asked if i'd the most if that makes sense. >> host: what is your background? >> guest: my background is in psychology. i have an undergrad innd psychology and if you graduate degrees, psychologically rated human behavior fields. >> host: how did you get involved in politics, writing about politics? >> guest: my dad is a leftist activist and we used to in his office he is an inventor, dentist and we used to listen to paul harvey. remember paul harvey? we used to talk about it and debate. i grew emma politics as part fy underpinning from those experiences with my dad. learned to love the debate of the but also learned to love, you can affect your government in ways that you feel passionate

about, you can affect your own life and your children's future by being engaged. i think a healthy respect for my dad and his activism to the degree which he pours out his life for it. wanted to do the same thing only i'm not certain really meant to be -- he got halfway there. he raised an activist. >> host: how does human behavior in psychology play a role in our political thinking? >> guest: so t much. i think too much of news addresses the what and doesn't bother to address the why. to talk about the fact we hear all of this vitriol in the political arena but look around you right now. people from all walks of life, all different geographical places, all different races, ethnicities, religions and so

on. there is a part of our human psyche that wants to know people that are from different places and think about that as doubly different than us. we want to know and understand. there's a curiosityty there. to paint anybody as either different from you or some of races or marginalized and to humanize people where it gets really dangerous for their political beliefs, i think, how to get where you aren't even if i think you're wrong, how did you get there and why do disagree on this and we agree on some things that might build a work together on? that's the really potent part of civil discourse and human connection if you will that the media has sort of cast aside in order to be a business that they haveve to be today. it didn't used to be the level of competition in media there is now but there's so much competition now. just make a living get to in the rights the headline that anybody is going to read, whether or not it's completely accurate.

>> host: 202-748-8200 eastern/central. 202-748-8201 mountain/pacific doctor gina loudon is our guest. used the cover of her book, "mad politics."ld we're going to try to work in a couple of phone calls in the time we have with her but want to ask a couple of question. neverum one, you talk about political correctness. what is your view of what it is and what it means? >> i think of political correctness as a sort of thing that has sort permit our political culture in that if you belong to certain party or even a certain religion or even a certain race or are from a certain country, you're supposed to believe this. i spent the last six years of my life in california living right on the border and all of my friends were pretty much immigrants of one form or

another. and i learned that a lot of them don't believe with the news media tells you they believe. just because the news media expects them to all the one where i found just recently enough recent election the talk about v the women so and a women were supposed voted certainly based on the agenda, it marginalizes the complication and the complexity of what it means to be human. almost nobody thinks completelyl monolithically along anybody's prescribed lines politically. you have to be careful about putting people in boxes all the time. >> host: trump derangement syndrome. wanted to ask you a what you thought about that. is it a real thing? >> guest: it is our real thing. there is a to him because he's not that prepared plastic politician that house all the consoles rounded that he asked before used his right hand. there is something about him that you either really love him

or really hate him if you're politically involved in most cases. i don't mean people us don't trump, i like him sometimes. most people of a very strong opinion. there is a w trump derangement syndrome i think people will perhaps say, for example, that all trump supporterss believe this or that all trump supporters are bad people. we have seen the attacks on people based on the politics, on some politician. we so what happened to rand paul and, some of the politicians in washington, d.c., and even other politicians in washington, d.c. on the anti-trump side of the aisle, not necessarily condemning violent behavior against someone simply because they are in the same party as donald trump. rand paul for crying out loud rant against donald trump but because using the same party tends to be put in the same box. box pudding is a very dangerous thing at something untoward about repeatedly in the book. >> host: let's take some s

calls. rhodere island, you are on with dr. gina loudon. "mad politics" this link of your book. >> caller: what your specific field you earned her phd and? at the question is how do you explain trump's daily line? >> guest: well, i don't think trump is someone who lies, if you have a specific question that you're referring to, that's great. i'm sure happy to address it if i can. i have two masters degree in phd, phd is in cuba and organizational development. so i studied a lot about human behavior and that's what i like to study. human behavior within the system, the political system, the business system, within the global system. that's always been my focus is how does that one person sort of fit into the whole group. >> host: jim acosta, cnn and

donald trump. what is your take? >> guest: i think when it becomes about the reporter, the reporter is doing a disservice to other reporters and to his audience. i certainly believe, i'm a huge advocate of really the entire bill of rights but the first amendment. i'm glad that cnn, for example, has a think somewhere around a number 50 reporters that cover,, that you cover the white house. jim acosta is just one of them because i do believe in a free press very strong andnd i would fight for that to my dying day. that's sort of my stand on that. i understand the frustration of the president what he feels like his message is often not completely communicated or not communicate honestly. and i think that's a problem. i wish that the media would just report the news, unless you're an opinion journalists which a lot in the our and that's fine, too.

butd you an opinion journalist and a don'txa know that you need becoming the white house. it's a controversial one for sure. >> host:he y skip in connecticu. go ahead. >> caller: as an air force vietnam veteran i can see how you can sport a man who had deferments and never served. >> host: skip said as a vietnam>> veteran, how can you support a man who never served in the c armed services. >> guest: there's been other presidents that have never served in the armed forces before as well. i do love with the president has done for the veterans. he's an advocate of the veterans, a lot more money and these slowly and surely a fixing the problems we saw in the v.a. where people were dying,, veterans were actually dying. i also know and more personal side of human in that i live in florida where he spends a lot of time and i've met a lot of people, veterans especially, that he is contemplating out of

his way to do things for. this was before his run for anything. this was him as a h human being. he's had a true love for veterans.ha i tell you i what, if i could go buy concert i would love to anna never did serve either. i'm not going to run for president but i do think while i love the idea of a president who is served and do think that makes you a stronger person in a for a lot of fields, i haven't and so on that somebody to judge, i love our veterans, too, and sols i don't know how to judge someone else because they didn'tha serve. >> host: what is your role in the trumped 120 campaign? >> guest: right now i'm still on his media advisory board and so that's for the trump 2020 campaign and it's's only just communicate with need exactly like what i'm doing with you now. >> host: c assembly who studied human behavior in somebody who supports donald trump, would you like him to stop tweeting? >> guest: no. because i'm afraid if he stops tweeting i realize there are

some tweets amid i wish he didn't tweet but he doesn't ask me first. but i'm afraid if he stops tweeting he would lose his connection with the american people. there are a lot of people that really relate to them because of these tweets. they see the human psyche sideu that maybe even the human frailty, and i think also the media sadly just can't report everything about him. so we want something to be whether it's good economic news that just gets glossed over by some of the more left-leaning table networks or whatever. i think it's important he has that communication tool so it doesn't matter what ian think because he's going to do what he wants to do. but no, i personally a lot of times laugh out loud when i read his tweets. >> host: lori is in plano, texas. you were on with gina loudon. >> caller: as the beautiful woman, how can you support a man who is a womanizer and trashes women all of the time?

>> guest: ie? don't, i certainly know that he has the past, as many people who have lived a hollywood/billionaire life certainly. i just think there is a lot of people out there in the world to have lived a life to a certain point that maybe they're not proud of. i'm not proud of every decision i made certainly image of your life as well, so i think for me it's kind of a great thing where i just think if he's improving our economy, it is helping our veterans, if he helps women today and he yes more women ons administration i think than i think the last administration and certainly may be any administration, i also think when you look at things like unemployment at an all-time historic low for women, is of the kinds of things that to me your actions now speak louder than your past. i i judge mulrooney's doing tod.

>> host: next call is thomaston humble, texas.. >> caller: hey, how's it going? everybody is writing books these days. >> guest: they are, yes. >> caller: everybody has a book, i don't care who it is. pc d doesn't mean political correctness anymore. it's progressive capitalism, like the green party, windmills, soul and all that. even marijuana. it's like what, $10 billion industry now. anyway, as forrest gump, hey, let him do ages. i want to see all his policies. if these right, great. but if he's wrong we will be calling you folks and reading your books and what happened, just like in 2005 and in 2008 came, oh, what happened to the banks, the house and all that? they blame the mexicans.

why can't a black guy owned a house? he wasn't bailing outt us. he would've been bailing out i guess 75% of the white people. what happened? hey, i will look for to reading your book. one more thing, the stimulus from obama runsut out in 2024. then we'll see. have a good one. >> host: that was thomaston humble, texas. in response, anything want to add? >> guest: i was having trouble understanding. >> host: the was a really a question in there. q some statements. we will just let them stand at that. but in your book, gina loudon, "mad politics", you ask yourself if you're a racist? >> guest: i did ask myself that at a certain point. >> host: you write about that. >> guest: i think everyone should come any bigotry of any kind. that something we should all doo on a regular basis. bigotry has existed in this country. there's bigotry nava didn't use be the same kind that we

saw for example, 50 years ago. i do think it's important because if you're harboring resentment against a group of people belong to group, whatever that that group is, whether it's a racialgr group, a political group, religious group, whatever, g i think that's a calling on you incumbent upon us as human beings to dig into that culture and get to know those people and they get out as a sieve before you can agree on and work together on that. even my dad and i who disagree pretty much straight than the light on everything, we have are things that we can agree on and we do try to work together on thoseic things. i a big animal rights excited me. that's a big thing to me. i just happen to have a huge part for animals, and as does laura trumped by the way. she and i worked together on different animal issues and weru work with a lot of people who didn't vote for donald trump. i think that it's important to do that, not just to stay in our

tribe, to get outside that a try. we don't need to impose that by some sortrn of government regulation. i'm just saying it's incumbent on us as human beings to do that. loudon, mims of the cabinet and congress who happen to be republican or support donald trump being attacked andan restaurants or nt allowed and restaurants. what is your take? >> guest: that's a form of bigotry as well and i think we have to take a hard look at ourselves in this nation before going to tolerate violence for keeping people out ofop restaurants or attacking peoples families in the private moments. you saw what happened to tucker carlson family, out in his home. that's a terrifying thing, must've been for his wife. we saw a package of white powder sent to the home of donald trump, jr. and his children. those are things that are terrifying. i don't want that happened anyone, especially someonei whs elected to put their life out there. i don't care what party you are in. if you subjected yourself, my

husband served in the state of missouri as a state senator, ane to think that my family, children would be attacked in a restaurant for what my husbands work was, i just think that is wrong in every way and hope that people on both sideses of the aisle stand up against it because the will come b back around where democrats are in power something of the presidency. i don't think this is the kind of behavior any of us really want to be condemned. i wish that the more left-leaning politicians would do a better job ofea condemning it. >> host: mike is in clifton park, new york. you're on with author gina loudon. >> caller: i find it highly offensive that you allow yourself toha be presented as a psychologist or even related to a psychologist. i'm licensing to states, i'm a real psychologist with a real phd. you will supposedly graduate degrees are from schools that are not even real d -- >> guest: that's not true. >> caller: you're not a a licensed psychologist, are you? for you too present yourself --

>> host: is that the point you wanted to make to her? >> caller: the point i'm making is that she's's not a rel psychologist that people are going to take her ignorance as possiblepo real opinion when she is just a w right-winger who's presenting opinions that are not even -- >> host: all right. mike, i think we got your point. let's get a response from gina loudon. >> guest: i obviously do have a degree in psychology. i've been doing this pretty much for most of my life but i did do, you know, my clinicals edited my internships and all that and i don't have any degree from any mail order institutions at all. my background being in human behavior whatever to myself as is human behavior expert. human and organizational development expert, those sorts of s things. sometimes people will call

people psychologists because they know that they do something psychological, but that's not me. i don't, i have no desire to sit in a clinical practice. that's the way to do. i do mediate and i study people who, people who, you know, humans, how they work within systems. that's what is that investment interest and i've done extensive research on all this as well and i've written for years about all of these topics. and to think again if people like the caller can get over this vitriol but that i'm on te right, i doubt if this column would have the same problem with some people. i do have a totally genuine phd and, in fact, from three different universities, my degrees are. none of them were mail orders i don't know, that something so they put out on social media and it had fun with it but it's just not true. >> host: how did "mad politics" come about? >> guest: i've been sort of

collaborating on some other things. there was a speaking organization that i was working with, and got to know them. it was sort of a a collaboratie thing to be honest with you. >> host: we are going toos take one more quick callhi and this s from pat in norfolk, virginia. you are on booktv. >> caller: how were you? >> guest: i'm well, thanks. how are you? >> caller: i am very, very impressed with your background. i am an 85 year old conservative republican, very involved in politics at age of 15. i i was president of the young republicans, but two or three questions ago a woman asked you why trump lies. i'm going to ask you the same question. and the reason being, i have voted in every election since i turned 21, but this last time i

looked at the little oval. i came from new hampshire to virginia. so you know what new hampshire is like. we- don't have the electronic voting, and a look at that littleg thing on the ballot ani walked out and i left it blank. he's doing some good, but he's so dishonest. okay, you have a background in behavior with people, and he does lie. why? >> guest: if you could just give you one example. >> host: we will not have time. tragic item how to defend such a broadgh thing. i would love to one example but he doesn't strike honestly as a dishonest person. i feel like a lot of things he said has been misconstrued indymedia starting with his shtick on the elevator which i dressed when he made the statement that, it was about the mexicans. that's just not what he said. i wrote it out word for word in

my book and explained it. and many other things since then. for example, i can muslim ban. remember that? that was obama's rest of countries and many people thought i was such a horrible thing but those were obama's list of people. separating children out the border was obama's policies. a lot of things i feel have not been communicated in the media that people just misunderstand. i just don't know of any outright lies that this president told by an happy to do this in the summer once to send them to me one on one. >> host: "mad politics: keeping your sanity in a world gone crazy" is a name of the book. gina loudon is the author, forward by sean hannity. thanks for being on booktv here in miami. >> guest: great time. >> booktv attends numerous book fairs and festivals every year. to speak with nonfiction authors. recently we visit the national press club book fair in washington, d.c. and spoke with history professor andrew arnold.

>> host: what should every american know about the constitution? >> guest: i make a story advantage of the most exciting thing about the constitution in the last generation is a way a 14th amendment has really come to the senate of the constitution. just a bit but the body of the constitution. over the last generation it's become about the 14th amendment, liberties, rights of all persons which is how the 14th amendment begins. >> host: is that content in your pocket guide to the u.s. constitution transfer absolute. i think the 14th amendment section is the longest part which would've been a shock i think the people who wrote it. >> host: why is that? >> guest: is because when they wrote it the constitution was just, we were just an you see a change in the constitution, the changing nature the national government from being more of an association of state to the national government be in charge of guaranteeing liberties of all americans. that's a new asserts around the

civil war and starts with a 14th amendment. >> host: what else is contained in the "a pocket guide to the u.s. constitution"? >> guest: it is a line by line kind. we go through every line of the constitution is what you know what emoluments really means, it's there. i didn't have to write that until recently. if you want to know what better sophomore guard, that's part of the constitution. almost no one knows but that is. we go to all the amendments and then a quick cogent and precise way trying to explain their history. what they really have made. i will tell you what they should mean. i'm historian but i tell you what did the community have me. >> host: in your view is it possible that the constitution could be amended again the next 20, 30 years? >> guest: sure. i think the constitution can be amended. have a procedure for doing it. it's a difficult process. it requires a really strong consensus and a really strong

movement to make it happen. but it is possible. >> host: what do you teach at the university in pennsylvania? >> guest: history, the history of the constitution, i teach a course of working in america. u.s. history. anything else we will let me teach. >> host: here's the book, "a pocket guide to the u.s. constitution." professor andrew arnold is the author. >> keep an eye out for more interviews from the national press club book fair to air in the near future. you can also watch them and any of our programs in their entirety @booktv.org. type the author's name in the search bar at the top of the page.