funds organized terrorist organizations who repeatedly attack israeli citizens and israeli interest so i understand their skepticism. but i said to prime minister netanyahu that frankly the alternative approach to containing iran which we've been practicing for the last decade has not delivered a cessation of that behavior and going on doing it expecting to get a different result is frankly not likely to happen. we need to do something different, we need to take -- we need to be prepared to take a little bit of risk in engaging in more with iran and see if we can persuade iran that it is in its interest to moderate. we won't totally change its behavior in the region but to moderate its behavior in the region. >> two last questions. >> good afternoon foreign secretary, thank you for your initial remarks and your over

view of the current foreign affairs situation with regards to our own approach to things. you mentioned the e.u. and you said that our partners the e.u. would be -- would feel that the e.u. would be unrecognizable if britain were to leave. surely that should be our goal foreign secretary, that we want the e.u. to be fundamentally challenged as the prime minister has given the commitment to. so surely that should be an encouragement to us to be bold about the type of changes that we want more towards trading cooperation and less of a commit ral union. that is my first question. the second question is this, you are the foreign and commonwealth secretary and i don't think the commonwealth was mentioned ones in your remarks. do we still have the c in fcos and did you replace it and put it back and did the british

overseas sovereignty that we govern issues that need to be addressed as well. >> any one of them in particular? [ laughter ] >> the record will show that i did mention the commonwealth in my opening remarks. i said it was one of the overlapping circles of influence that gave us a unique foot print in the world. but i absolutely take the point. the c is very firmly in fco and as we head toward the commonwealth heads of government meeting in malta later in year and the election of a new secretary general of the commonwealth, this is a important moment to think about renewal of the commonwealth and to think about restating the purpose and the direction of the commonwealth going forward. it is an organization in my view in need of some attention. it is -- it operates in a competitive environment for international organizations. it is unique among them. but i think it is at least

arguable that in some respects it slightly lost sight of its proper direction and course and i think after the meeting and the election of a new secretary general, our plan certainly is to seek to reinvigorate the commonwealth and see a period in which the commonwealth regroups and reasserts itself as being a group of nations that have come together for a specific set of -- to achieve a specific set of objectives distinct from what other international organizations do. on the e.u. agenda, what i said was that all of our partners in europe have expressed to me a desire that britain should remain part of the european union and some have gone much further and said that the european union would be unrecognizable and the poorer

for britton not being part of it. that is a reflection of what in their eyes is britain's role in keeping the e.u. focused on free trade, open market outward looking agenda and an important part of our reform pitch is making sure that going forward the e.u. is just that, it doesn't succumb to the temptation to bim inward-looking defensive focused on how to protect our social model when in fact the only real way to protect our standard of living is to be competitive in globalizing economy. that has to be the number one challenge for the european union and that is at the heart of the renegotiation and restatement of the objectives of the union that we're seeking. >> and the overseas -- >> the overseas territories are

of course an absolutely important part of our agenda. small in number, small in population but a very solemn obligation and commitment that we have as spelled out in the white paper of the ceased territory that the previous government published. >> john baron. >> briefly. there is a general concern bringing us back to syria if i may, there is a strategic analysis when it comes to our approach to syria which results on ad hoc short maneuvers that doesn't take into view the big picture. we were proposed to arm the rebels hoping to contain the arms within friendly rebel forces and bomb assad and very recently we are proposing to swap sides and take on elements of the rebels. that is what it appears to and there is a civil war and we are expected to take two sides over

a two-year period. why isn't we can't get this right? does the foreign secretary understand that this sort of changing approach and lack of analysis doesn't inspire confidence generally, let alone in the house of commons? >> well, i think that is a gross misrepresentation of the situation. what has happened is that the situation on the ground has changed. when we were first looking at the situation in syria it was a civil war, with opposition groups fighting a regime which was responding with ever more ruthless military means. what has happened in the meantime is that isil daesh has become a fact on the ground, controlling a significant area of territory, more extreme -- the daesh itself and other more extreme islamist groups have become a much more important factor in the conflict on the

ground and that hugely complicated the situation. if i may say so it was a relatively black and white thing at the beginning. there were bad regime people and there were good opposition people. >> okay. mr. secretary, i saw the standard in al qaeda where all of the rebel sides at the beginning were on the rebel side. [ inaudible ]. >> but i think the holding of substantial territory and the establishing of something like civil government in that territory is a new phenomenon and hugely complicated the situation. just for the record, it is still our intention to arm moderate -- train and arm moderate oppositionists and at no time was there a proposal in general terms to bomb assad. there was a specific proposition to respond to the use of

chemical weapons by the assad regime in order to deter further use of chemical weapons of crimes against humanity. >> you may have the slip but we don't. can i thank you very much for this initial session with us. i'm very grateful to you. and we should look forward to resuming on a future date on the 9th of september. order, order, the meeting is now adjourned. join us tomorrow when john kerry, and earnest moniz and jack lew testify about the iran nuclear agreement. they are scheduled to appear before the senate foreign relation foreign committee. watch it live at 10:00 a.m. here on c-span. the nation's governors are

meeting on friday. we'll talk to the vice chair of the nga, gary herbert watch that live starting at 7:20 a.m. on washington journal on our companion network c-span. and later on friday we'll live from the nga meeting with two sessions. first opening remarks, starting at quarter to 1:00 eastern and later it is a discussion on tourism and economic development. see it all live on friday on c-span. when congress is in session, c-span 3 brings you more of the best access to congress with live coverage of hearings news conferences and key public affairs events and every weekend it is american history tv traveling to historic sites, discussions with authors and historians and eyewitness accounts of events that define the nation. c-span 3, coverage of congress and american history tv. former arkansas governor

mike huckabee, one of 17 vying for the 2016 presidential nomination visited voters in newton iowa, last saturday. he visited a pizza ranch restaurant, a popular stop for republican candidates. hosted by the jasper county republicans, governor huckabee addressed voter questions on immigration, health care and recent comments made by rival donald trump. this is about an hour. >> i'm going to tell you how this works. that is how church works. you have to put more in the till. >> hi. >> nice to meet you governor. >> nice to meet you. thank you for coming out today. >> how do you do.

>> the front row. >> hi there. >> hi. >> thanks for coming. >> how are you? >> al whiten. >> and carol. >> hi carol great to see you. thank you for coming. you all live in new torn. you didn't have too far to drive. thank you. i'm glad you came today. hope you enjoy the time. >> hi, i'm aaron. >> >> johanna. >> nice to see you. mike, you guys have the same last night. probably know each other. nice to see you. >> you look so tired. >> i wonder why. you got me up early yesterday. >> we're not here to make your life easy. you should say we won't cover him any more. did you go over to the event in iowa state? okay.

how do you do you? >> we met outside. you met a few people today. >> well you weren't who i thought you were. >> how are you, sir? i want to see who you all are. [ inaudible ]. >> mike huckabee, nice to see you. did you see that andy was a pretty liberal democrat, in real life andy griffith was. and i guess, so is ron howard. don't know about don knots. just our lock the one guy on the show that would be conservative would be the clown. hi, there sir. nice to see you.

[ laughter ] >> they have an intelligent group of people. nice to here. we just got back. we were at ames earlier today an the family leaders, it seems to go well. a big crowd. nobody booed me. you were there? thank you. thank you. bravo. that was a nice event. it really was. that is a great city. and i don't know if i've been there before in the auditorium.

i thought i had, but i'm just not sure. >> i think we're going to get started, if it is okay. >> sure. you bet. >> it is my opportunity to welcome you here today. the county chair is marshal chrisfield and he couldn't be here so he asked me to stand in for him and that is what i'm doing. so welcome. i'm going to call on pastor kim crummer from the methodist church to open with a prayer. >> i'm usually known for one with praise from the heart so i asked god if i could write my heart down on this piece of paper so i could pray what is on my heart and on the hearts i think of all of us who live in this great nation. so let us pray. oh mighty god, we thank you for your presence here today.

we thank you for your wisdom and love that guides this great nation. we thank you for those who have served in our military to assure our liberties and freedom that allows us to meet this day for the good of our country. our hearts are heavy this day for the unnecessary deaths of our marines within our borders. we reach out to the families of these brave men who selflessly served our country and ask that you would hold them with your love. sometimes we forget hour fortunate we are to live in a country where we can openly congregate and share our thoughts and opinions. lord, many feel our nation may be heading down a path of danger and immorality where our constitution is not being adhered to in a way that has guided this great nation in the right direction. with the threats of terrorism and violence and tyranny and unrest within our borders, we need you even more. god help us to follow your laws before the laws of humanity.

and give us the assurance that you are always in control. we gather here today with governor huckabee as he makes a bid to become our next president of the united states of america. may this be a time where we express and share our thoughts with governor huckabee. we pray that his wisdom, leader shim skills compassion for others and his love for you will guide this great nation in the direction of peace, prosperity, unity and patriotism. help us to continue to be the great nation founded by you, oh, god and bless this time we share together with governor huckabee to make this a reality. in jesus' name we pray amen. >> if you will stand and join the pledge with me. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god, undif dizible with liberty and

justice for all. thank you. it is my pleasure to introduce our guest here today. the governor was the 44th governor of the state of arkansas. he was governor for 11 years and longest serving governor in the history of that state. i tell you, the first time that i met governor when he was coming through here about eight years ago and we were at the straw poll in ames and he was on the stage playing his guitar and i missed seeing you on the saturday evenings too. so i enjoyed that. >> i missed being seen.

>> the governor is 89 years old and has been an avid musician since he was 11. >> i might need help getting up. [ laughter ] >> well they tell me here he's 59 so i think he can get up for a few more years. but any way. governor thank you. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> i certainly feel that way a little bit ago. 89, yes, sir. i was at a school speaking several years ago when i was governor, i did a lot of speaking at schools and i always love to go to a campus and talk to kids because they first of all, they are so honest. they just let you have it. and i was at an elementary school and so the kids were all out there kind of restless and i got up and i said, just by the way, how old are you guys?

you are about nine years old and that is about how old they were. and i said how old do you think i am and one kid said 76. and i said kid, you're never going to get out of the third grade, i'll see to it. there are some things a governor can't do, that is something i can make happen. expel that child. don't let him have a seat in the classroom. thank you for coming out here today. i know 4:30 on a saturday is a tough time to get anywhere and there is so much going on and we just got back from ames and 3000 of the fellow iowans were there. and it doesn't give us the intimacy where we can visit for a few minutes and i'm going to do something hillary won't do and that is i'm going to answer all of your questions. i'm not going to put the press in a rope and i will not lasso

them and i'm grateful for you being here today. eight years ago when i ran for president, i came to places like this in iowa. the truth is when we first started out. i had fewer people than in this first row right here. and it was just inch by inch little by little we kept building a group of people that were willing to support me. and when we won the iowa caucus in 2008, we ended up having the largest number of caucus voters for me that had ever voted for a presidential candidate on the republican ticket in the history of the iowa caucuses. now the good news is, that is a wonderful milestone but it does not mean that i think for one minute that i can just show up a time or two in iowa and say well, you voted for me before and i expect you to do it again. i am grateful for the people who voted for me before. but i have no expectation that

there is any obligation that people would do it again. i feel like i need to earn it, just like i did the last time. you -- but i hope i can do that. because i really believe that i have the right skills to lead this country. and if i didn't think that believe me i would not have left the wonderfully pleasant job i've had for the past 6 1/2 years. over the past quarter of a century i have been a candidate for office and i can say to you that is pretty hard work. well, we get music. i think that is actually coming from another room. it is not even in here. is that what you're trying to do. it is in the speakers next door so -- so let me pick back up there. running for office is really hard work. then i got elected. first lieutenant governor and then governor. that is even harder work. it is a challenge.

especially when you governor in a state like arkansas where it was the most partisan state in the country. and i know that might be a surprise to you. we had a more lopsided political structure than massachusetts vermont, maine oregon california, any state. most in the country. and in serving as lieutenant governor for three years governor for 10 1/2 years. i could tell you, that was hard. last 6 1/2 years i've hosted a talk show on television i've done radio talk both commentary and radio talk show, i've traveled around making speeches and i'll be honest with you, talking about the people who are candidates and office holders that is the easiest job i've had in my life and paid better money than anything i've ever done. i got amused that when reporters say huckabee is not serious about running for president

he's trying to build his profile so he can get a tv show and sell some books and make some speeches. i'm thinking what idiot wrote that. i had a television show, i've written 12 books and i had more speeches than i could accept. that is what i walked away from left to come back and run for president. the only reason i would do that is because i truly believe our country is in real trouble. something i have i didn't have eight years ago. five grandkids. by the way, all five of them are four and under. one of them is less than four weeks old. the fifth one, the little boy george. and the oldest one just turned four on the 2nd of this month. so imagine how loud things are when they all get together. so one of two reasons i'm running for president, because of my grandkids. either i'm running because i

want to save this nation for them, or i'm running because that way i don't have to hear how loud they can be when they're all together. i think all of you know that the reason that anybody would do this has to be for something other than ego. i've been in politics too long to let ego be the reason for which i would run a campaign because quite frankly the glory of being a political candidate, that disappears in about 15 minutes. and then it just is hard work. nothing is better for one's ego than just to be on tv. nobody hates you. people love you. you run for office and people hate you. and that is your own family. not to even think of the other people out there. now let me say very honestly, i'm very blessed. my wife was a little upset for me -- with me for not running four years ago. nobody is a stronger supporter and a more committed participant in this process than she is. and frankly, i wouldn't be doing

it if i didn't have her wholehearted support and that of my family. this is hard to do when your family is with you. i find it impossible to do if your family is not with you. and frankly a divided family is nothing we can afford to have. but we have a divided country. a severely divided country. and we're seeing the effects of it, we're seeing the effects of it economically. i'm in a town that every day people would go to work at the maytag plant in newton, iowa. i didn't live here i lived in arkansas and i knew you had a maytag plant. i remember when whirlpool bought maytag because there was a whirlpool plant in my state of arkansas. i remember when this plant closed and the ft. smith whirlpool plant closed and the searcy arkansas plant closed

and we lost all of the jobs all went away to mexico. all of you, perhaps some of you may have worked there and lost jobs. i'm tired of seeing america lose jobs. i'm tired of seeing americans work year after year really hard at something only to find one day they walk in and they are told their job is gone. the president has been telling everybody the economy is in recovery. i don't talk to a lot of people in places like this why people say yep, the economy is just doing swimmingly well. people tell me quite the opposite. the economy is not recovering for many working americans. if anything, it is struggling because so many people had a good job a few years ago that paid benefits and a pension and today they are working two and three part-time jobs and no pension or benefits at all. a couple of weeks ago i was in akin, south carolina. and we were spending a day there and staying at the fairfield inn

in akin, south carolina. nice little hotel a budget place that lets you have free internet and breakfast. we are cheap. we have to be. and i was down there when they opened up at 6:00 and i was the only one down there except the guy working at the fairfield inn taking care of the tables. and because i was the only one down there we struck up a conversation and got to visiting. his name is mark, in his 50s. maybe a few years younger than me. in his low 80s. 82 83. just seeing if you were listening. and we got to talking. and until three years ago he was one of 300 people that worked in a manufacturing plant in akin, south carolina. one day that he closed the plant, all 300 lost their jobs. he was a college educated accountant for the company. but the manufacturing facility closed down and his accounting

job went away with it. this man who had a good degree good job worked there for 20 something years now found he had no job and working three part-time jobs one of which was to get up at 5:00 in the morning and go down to the fairfield inn and serve breakfast to people like me staying at the hotel. he would finish that and go to two more jobs and he did that because his house is almost paid off and he can't afford to lose it, can't afford to move anywhere, can't find another job anywhere, and that is the america that i see happening all around us. and it is the america we need to fix. and we also need to fix an america where people are in danger not just if they go to the middle east, but also in danger if they are standing outside an army reserve recruiting station or a marine recruiting station or a marine and naval reserve unit. that happened in my home state

of arkansas. andy long, private first class standing out front of the army recruiting station june 1st, 2009, he was assigned there after having gone through training and having been in combat. he was standing outside as a recruiter and a young radicalized islamic jihadist from memphis who grew up a baptist in a nice neighborhood by the name of what was carlos bledsoe who became abdul hakim muhammed, wet to yemen and came back and became radicalized and his father called the fbi and said i think my son is into something very bad and the fbi didn't take it serious enough and he had several attempts to do some horrible things. he was pretty bad at being a taste. his attempts failed. one of the things he wanted to do was blow up time square and that didn't work. he never got caught. but one day he drove over from

memphis, about 2 1/2 hour drive to little rock and took a long rifle and held it outside of his car and fired shots that killed andy long and severely wounded another u.s. army soldier. standing in front of the army recruiting station in a strip shopping center in little rock, arkansas. when this happened the other day and the shooter went on this rampage and shot up the front of a recruiting station in a trip shopping center my first reaction was, my gosh, i've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well. and one of the things that was most distressing was that these are the most trained, capable people we have to handle weapons but when they have duty like that we make them put their weapon as side and they were sitting ducks for the terrorists. day one when i'm president, secretary of defense will be notified that military members will be free to carry the

weapons for which they are trained. we're not going to disarm our soldiers sailors marine airmen and coast guardsman and have them walking around vulnerable sitting ducks so those in the name of islamic jihad will murder them in cold blood on the streets of america. that must stop and it must stop now. people ask me sometimes what do i think is the most important thing we got to fix in america. is it the economy or national security? and i tell people that is like asking me which wing on the airplane is the most important the one on the left or the right. folks, when i fly, i want both wings attached to the fuselage. but there is one other thing it needs other than the two wings. the plane needs a steering mechanism and have l rods flaps and a rutter or it can't be steered. wings without a steering

mechanism still ends in a crash. america has to have a strong economy and a strong national defense. but there is something else america has to have. it has to have a strong moral foundation to steer this country without morality without a clear unapologetic commitment to the moral absolute of things being right or wrong. we don't have a steering mechanism and this country still crashes. and i'm running for president because i believe with all of my heart that it is not just about saying we must get the economy back in shape. yes, we do. and it is why i support the fair tax to end all of the tax on our work and savings and investment. we will pay tax at the point of consumption and see jobs and capital come back to this country and people able to manufacturer and make things again. but it is also about protecting america, protecting americans

whether they are half-way overseas or here in oil so women in oklahoma city don't have their heads cut off at work by a terrorist for heaven sakes. but all of that is so dependent upon a president who understands how to lead with moral clarity. and understands that we can't be a great nation. it is just not possible if we try to separate ourselves from being a good country. a country that is on its knees before an al mighty providence shall god without whose help with not -- we would not be a country. and i believe in my heart this country has no way of existing away from explanation that god's providence was if fact involved in how we got here. i don't think this country is done. if i did, i would just gather my grandchildren together and we would huddle up and go to disney

and live the best life we could until it all fell apart. but i think it is worth a fight. america has been really, really good to me. probably like it has to many of you. i grew up dirt poor in south arkansas, son of a man who never finished high school. whose dad never finished high school and whose dad never finished high school before him. i'm the first male in my family lynnage to -- lineage to graduate from high school much less go to college. my family has a long history of poverty. my dad used to tell me son don't look too far up the family tree. there are things you don't need to see. and that made me curious and i realized the old man is right, there is some stuff there are things up there nobody ought to be seeing. but because i was born in the united states of america i didn't have to stop where i started. an the opportunities that were afarded -- afforded to me because i lived in this country meant that i could one day

become the 44th governor at age eight. he told me when i was an 8-year-old, son, the governor is going to dedicate a lake and he is going to talk because you may go your whole life and never meet a governor in person. my dad could not conceive that i would meet the governor again much less become one. why would he think that. except that we lived in america. where that is possible. you see, i want that kind of opportunity for my grandkids. but i want it for your grandkids too. and for your kids. and if we continue on the path we're on, that is not going to be the case. and that is why i'm convinced we've got to get our shoulder to the wheel, we've got to get this country back on track and we need to make it so that our kids and grandkids will have the kind

of america we grew up taking for granted and that is why i'm running for president. i need your support in the caucuses. you've been through the caucuses here before i'm pretty sure here in iowa. i'm going to ask you to get out of your comfortable home on a comfortable february evening with snow on the ground chances are it will be snowing that night and maybe sleeting and i'm going to ask you in your car to drive across to your location where you are caucusing and sit there for two or three hours in front of neighbors and co-workers and folks you go to church with and stand up and say mike huckabee for president. and persuade your neighbors to vote for me when you are there. and if you are willing to help do that gosh we need you. and we need you to multiply with your friends and relatives and the people you work with and your neighbors. now if for some reason and i cannot emergency why, but if for

some reason you think you might vote for someone else in the caucus, then i told you it will be cold that night. you need to stay home where it is warm. put your feet up, pop some popcorn, watch it on tv and say, boy, i should have gone down there. but for heaven sakes, if you are going to vote for someone else, don't show up that night. i want to take your questions. who has one? yes, sir. >> sir what is your stand on the immigration and sanctuary cities. >> we shouldn't have sanctuary cities because that is one form of government aiding and abetting in the breaking of law in front of another area of government. and we've seen the disastrous impact of that in san francisco. we've seen in elsewhere. but this was so vivid to see that young peshs 32-year-old girl gunned down cold blood in front of her father. it hit me hard because my own daughter, the one who just delivered my fifth grandchild

and her third, she's 32 years old. and i tell you that got close to home. and we can't fix the immigration problem without having control of our borders. i pledge we'll control our border and we'll secure it within the first year of my presidency. and if that sounds bold and audacious, we built a 70 -- well we built a 1700 mile road -- 73 years ago between british colombia and alaska. now keep in mind that is tough weather conditions in which to do any construction work. and we did it with the technology and the engineering skills that we had 73 years ago but we did it in less than a year. i hear people say there is no way to secure the border. yes there is. if you have a president who decides it is a priority to get it done. and if we can build 1700 miles of road 73 years ago in winter,

in british colombia, and alaska we can secure the border. and we will. but we can't fix anything wrong with immigration until then. that is first and foremost, is job one. yes. >> what is your take on that and what are you willing to do to protect israel from the inevitable. iran wants to blow them off the map and here we are helping iran out. >> i read all 159 pages of the iranian deal. i was really really disgusted when i heard there was a deal and thought maybe if i read this i'll find some comfort. i didn't. i found more outrage. this was a colossal disaster of epic proportions. you mentioned israel. i first went there in 1973. 42 years ago this month july,

1973, my first trip there. i've been there dozens and dozens of times. three times last year. i've been there once this year and i go back there next month. i know the people i know the country. for 43 years i've waved this nation and i've seen the prophecy of ezekiel come true. the dry bones have come to life. i've seen the desert bloom with my own eyes. i've watched the sleepy economy come alive and become a power houses of the world in economy and high-tech nulg and medical advancement. like america, the only way you can describe what israel is about is god's intervention. i shutter to think what we have done with the iranian deal because what we did we in essence powered and em boldered terrorists, not a government terrorists, thuz with -- these with the people that 36 years

ago took over the country and held hostages for 444 days and these are the people that have never kept a deal, they have kidnapped and murdered americans consistently over the past 36 years and sponsored hezbollah and hamas, who paid for the very rockets that were fired into civilian targets into israel last year from gaza. i was there last august when the rockets were being fired and i was at the southern most air base when the air missions were launched when the israelis flew into gaza and saw the spectacular care that they took to try to keep from having civilian death. but i also saw the videos where hamas would move civilians, including children, in front of what they knew were the targets. that is who we're dealing with. the iranian government can't be trusted. even while we were in the midst of negotiating with them, the president rouhani was screaming

death to america and vowing to wipe israel off the face of the map. this is not just about israel. iran repeatedly said israel is the little satan america is the big satan. they chanted death to america. israel is the warm-up act and we are the target. and why would we help load a gun pointed to our own head. only an idiot would do that. and what we do was nothing short of idiotic. we ought to reverse it. we ought to reimpose the sanctions. we ought to bankrupt iran. we ought to utilize our own forms of energy to bankrupt what their capacity is because the only way they have money is they develop an export energy. we have six or 700 years of energy under our feet in the united states, oil gas and coal.

we can put millions of americans to work and prosper them and lower the energy cost for americans which means the single mom driving to work every day could pay a buck for a gallon of gas not $4 giving her the biggest pay raise she's had to the 84-year-old widow in south arkansas it turn her air-conditioning on on a hot sweltering 105 degree day and leaving it off because she can't afford the electric bill and become the world's explorer exploiter and exporter of energy and take the marpgt away from russia and the saudis and iran and be the supplier to europe, africa and asia. when we do that, we transform our economy and bring the jobs, what we also do is we re-set the whole balance of world power and we take the power of putin away to invade crimea and ukraine and we take the power of the

iranians away to finance terrorism and take the power of the saudis away to build terrorists to fly into our buildings on 9/11. this is how we should change our plsys -- policies for sure. somebody else? you guys -- yes. >> i think a lot of people agree that obama care should be -- >> eliminated -- eliminated. >> but i think a lot of people will also agree that the healthcare system in the states is broken. a lot of people aren't able to afford it. >> the real problem with what obama care did was it didn't address the real problem. the problem in america is not a health care crisis. think about this. we have the best health care in the world.

have you ever known anyone in your family or perhaps you that had a diagnosis that you have cancer and did anybody say honey, get me to havana, cuba because that is why i need -- where i need to be for the best health care in the world. you ever heard that? no. my goodness i need to get to -- no. you hear i need to get to may yoi, to the orbner clinic in new orleans or plays but it is in america. because the best healthcare is here. but what we have is not a healthcare crisis we have a health crisis. let me describe that. 80% of the money we spend on health care in america is spent treating chronic disease. which means that what we have is we have a sick population and that is very expensive. what we should be doing in the healthcare system, instead of saying let's put more money to treat people who have illnesses that are at the catastrophic level, let's put the money to

cure the ones that are curable. what would happen if a president named huckabee said we're going to find a cure to cancer, diabetes, alzheimer's and heart disease, the four biggest economic drivers in the country and here is what we decided. just like we eradicated polio in the 50s and i was there and i may not be 89 but i'm old enough to remember this 60 years ago and i remember lining up at the courthouse lawn on a sunday afternoon and getting my polio vaccine. i never got polio because of that. kids two years older than me had polio and had to wear braces on their legs, i never did. we didn't spend money on polio last year. because we beat it. what if we did the same thing to heart disease, diabetes, cancer and alzheimer's. do you realize the hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe trillions because heart disease

is $313 billion a year diabetes is nearly half a trillion dollars a year. alzheimer's will be $1.1 trillion in cost by the year 2050. we transform not just the economy but think about the impact on your life and that of your family. when we find cures to those diseases that right now scare the daylights out of us. most of us have gone through one or more of those diseases in our immediate family. and we know, we know how devastating it is. all four have touched my family. my father my mother, my wife. my mother-in-law. it has touched my family and it has touched yours. if we put our focus on cures and prevention rather than intervention, then we bring the real cost of health care down so those folks who have medical conditions for which they can't afford they can be covered. and should be.

but obama care has done exactly the opposite of what it promised. is said what? if you like your doctor you can keep it. if you like your health insurance you can keep it. it will cost you $2,500 per family per year. and i'm waiting for somebody to say i kept my doctor and my health insurance and it cost my cheaper. i'm hearing the opposite. i lost my doctor and i don't have the same health insurance and i have something i don't want and don't need. and the bottom line of all of it is, it is costing me more thousands more. business owners are now making decisions not to grow their business but to shrink their business. this is the first time in american history a business owner is trying to keep employees under 50 and the hours under 30 because he can't afford to grow his business. he's having to shrink his business. that is not how we make america

a great economy and a great country and grow jobs. we make it by saying grow make it better, serve more customers. not cut back to the point that you can keep shrinking because you can't afford the government mandates on top of you. and as president, that is exactly what i would absolutely get done. the quickest way to do that by the way, job wise is the fair tax and the quickest way health care wise is the focus on prevention rather than interveks. it makes a huge difference. thank you, chris. i think i need that. i hope that is just water. [ laughter ] >> i'll be talking funny soon. that is just water. you have to trust me on this. it really is. let me take a couple more questions. i won't wear you out. it is saturday. you may have places to go, things to do. >> i hope i get this said right.

i heard donald trump made some comments in regards to john mccain and he you know was not -- not a war hero and he didn't like people that got captured do you have anything to say about that? >> unfortunately, he did say something to the effect that he likes -- he was being disparaging toward mccain and said he wasn't a hero because he got captured. the people that got captured were the losers. i find that offensive, disgusting. john mccain was my opponent four years ago, he beat me, and i came in second in the republican primary. but i was never personally bitter about that. that's how politics works.

i campaigned for john mccain around the country. one thing i will tell you about john mccain, i have so many disagreements with him but i will never question that man's sacrifice and service to this great nation of ours. for six years, he was tortured brutally by the north vietnamese. i read his account of torture and it's just stunning. i don't think most of us are made of the stuff he is to take what he did for six solid years. and he did something that very, very few people can claim. through all of that he returned with honor. he returned with honor. and i don't care if he were the

most liberal democrat in the world, i would say, he earned by respect. i can disagree with a person politic politically, but i will never, ever disrespect what every veteran put forth. i get to walk free land, and breathe free air because of the people that sacrificed to keep me free. and whether they saw combat or were p.o.w.s, they served and i live free. not only am i grateful, but we should make sure that every single promise we made to those veterans, we keep in full. because they kept their promises to us.

while they were serving. that's not a money issue for me. it's not a political issue for me. folks, it's a moral issue. keep your word. you make a promise, keep it. if you can't keep it don't make it. the same with social security and medicare, the same thing. folks saying, we have to change the rules for those 55 and above. many of us have been paying into the system since we were 14 years old and took it out of our check. with the promise that if we took it out when i get to 65 social security and medicare are going to be there. there are about 90% of the people in this country that have social security and medicare, and that's the primary source of their income and medical care.

are we seriously thinking it makes sense to take that away from the people that have done their duty and accepted that confiscated out of their check for so many years? i don't think so. god help us if we're that dishonest. one final question if anyone has one. yes? [ inaudible ] >> how much does it cost to be treated there? >> how much does it cost? depends on what you're being treated for. >> say, colon cancer. >> i can't give you a dollar amount for colon cancer. my wife had spinal cancer about 40 years ago we were fortunate enough, we had health insurance. it cost more than we made over

several years. people shouldn't be penalized if they get sick. that's not the kind of country america is. what i don't want to see us do is create this monstrous government program it's all about what the government tells you you, you have to have and have to pay for. it is about insuring that people have access to health care. but making sure it's personal, portable, and goes with you like any other insurance you have your life insurance. but it also means you have some responsibility. if i set fire to my house, i don't think i get to call the fire company and say, i need you

to pay for this one. if you crash your car on purpose, live as recklessly as possible, it's going to cost more to insure my house and home. the same way insurance should charge more if you're being reckless with your health. we can't have people pay more because of your ir irresponsibility. [ inaudible ] >> i didn't mean the mayo clinic is the only place a person should get medical care. here's what i'm saying, there should be a means by which

middle class, working class people should be able to access the medical system. that's not what we worked on with obama care. with obama care, we forced people to buy a level of insurance they may not have needed or may not have wanted. for example, it mandates all kinds of coverages i'm a 59-year-old male i have maternity coverage. because it's mandated. i'm not sure you laugh because you're thinking how ridiculous that any man especially my age, i'm pretty sure i'm not going to get pregnant. and if i do i'm going to get a reality show and i'm going to make so much money off that, i won't need insurance. but i am going to have maternity

benefits, drug konscounseling. i'm not a drug addict. i need benefits to have alcohol treatment. i don't drink. it's not because i'm a moral giant, it's because i smelled it as a teenager and said this smells horrible. and my friends said you have to develop a taste for it. i'm a very logical person, and i said, wait a minute. i have to develop a taste? what that means to me is that, you're telling me if i go and continue to take something into my mouth that i find repulsive i'll break down my resistance

and at some point actually like it, that doesn't make any sense to me. why would i beat my body into submission to force myself to accept something my natural reaction to reject. my point is, i have to pay for coverage not because i want it or need it i'm subsidizing people for whom that is something they need. should i have to pay for that? i don't know. i don't think so. that's what i mean by that. folks, you have been wonderful. thank you very very much. i hope i answered the questions on your mind and heart. remember, february, when the caucuses come, where are you going to be? >> a caucus. >> who are you going to vote for? >> not going to vote for

huckabee? what are you going to do that night? stay home. thank you very much folks. god bless you. thank you for having me here. [ applause ] >> thank you guys. nice to see you. thanks for coming out. thank you. >> i have the mastercard, switched it to god instead of greed. >> that's my mother's pastor. so, i know he's okay. >> i have when i first came here, she looked me right in the eyes and she said when you talk to me, you always look into my eyes. >> that's my mom. >> i always looked her in the eyes. >> that's important.

how are you guys? mike huckabee. i see you have your hands full. i realize that. >> you all. >> it's going to be 98 there. >> oh. >> hi, there. >> mike huckabee. >> what's highly recommended? >> well -- >> what i'm thinking is you never go wrong with pepperoni, but the buffalo chicken looks pretty stinking good. >> that's my favorite. that's -- it has everything on this, topped on there. and all the flavors. >> oh that looks good. >> it's really good. this is good, chicken bacon

ranch, it's really good. it's a pretty good place. >> i've never had a bad one here. i saw one the other day pizza ranch -- >> taco pizza? >> yeah. >> we have pretty much everything here. >> good stuff. >> hi there. >> let me get in the middle of you guys. thank you. it's really a pleasure to see y'all. great to be back. hold the line over there. good to see you. >> hi, there. >> we'll put you right here. >> all right. >> get him on the other side over there. you get to be the centerpiece in the photo. >> 1, 2, and -- there we go. >> mike huckabee -- >> are you from there or something?

>> no my first wife -- >> is that right? i've been there many, many times. >> that was in my younger years. >> of course it was. >> my pastor is from here. >> he's from illinois. >> oh, that's right, that's a good little drive, isn't it? did you get out there, stir the dust up? >> no i wanted to say -- i saw you with george on "good morning america" on sunday. i'm glad you said all that you said. >> thank you god bless you. hi, there. >> we appreciate it. nice to see you. good luck.

>> good luck. wish you the best. >> glad y'all came out. >> be careful on the road. >> hi there. >> i voted for you the last time around. i follow you on facebook, you were on my bucket list to meet. can i get a picture? >> absolutely. we just need you to caucus for me again. >> of course. all right. >> thank you. >> 1, 2 -- there we go. >> thank you. nice to meet you. >> good to meet you too. >> thank you. >> you're welcome god bless you. >> here we go. okay. thank you for your prayer this afternoon. >> you're welcome. >> that's a man that has no confidence in his photography. >> when someone asks me to smile, i say -- thank you sir,

god bless you. >> you did that without a teleprompter, huh? >> i did. those things are expensive. >> can i get a picture? >> well you just tell the truth, and say the same thing the next time, my dad always said. >> 2017. i don't know what you're thinking about v.p.s, but -- >> i have to get the first slot later. >> i like dr. carson. >> he's a good man. i just talked to him this morning. not a bad idea. hello hello.

you must like to hunt. >> i was a storm chaser for the national weather service. i just happened to be driving on by to get some pizza. >> do you live in iowa? >> i'm from illinois. >> how long have you been chasing storms? >> since i was 16. >> we dealt with the aftermath of tornadoes when i was governor. i've been in two, once when i was a kid, and another hit the grounds of our governors' mansion. >> i'm glad you're running you know how to beat clintons. >> thank you.

>> we have more road to the white house coverage coming in august. c-span is partnering for the voters first forum. all current or likely republican presidential candidates have been invited. watch it live on c-span, listen live on c-span radio, and. and tomorrow testimony about the iran nuclear agreement, live at 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific, here on c-span 3. it's almost as if they were matter and anti matter. >> always to the right. and almost always in the wrong

jts. >> i confess, almost anything complicated confuses him. >> the filmdebates between william f. buckley and gore vidal. >> today i believe, there's someone saying the numbers are dwindling, talk about, you know, hot, salacious topic number two. whereas them, i don't think that was the norm in tv at the time. and i don't think they needed that prodding. >> and howard k. smith, the moderator, a distinguished newsman, who i think was embarrassed by this. he was moderating, but sometimes disappears for five minutes at a

time. today, a moderator jumps in every 30 seconds. >> sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span's "q and a". democratic candidates for president gathered in iowa last week. together, the comments to the iowa democratic party run just under two hours. thank you very much. thank you, doctor mcgwire. congratulations to all of the hall of fame inductees.

and thank you for inviting me to this exciting night in cedar rapids. tonight you'll hear from five good candidates with a wide range of passions and experiences. it's good to be in iowa. i'm a college wrestler and i have long admired the many hawkeye and cyclone champions. i'm the only candidate that has been a mayor, and governor. throughout these experiences, i have tried to earn a reputation for courage and honesty. i also have shown strong convictions, sometimes under enormous political pressure and proud of my long support and beneficial social programs that help build the middle class. my long support for tax structure for the wealthy paying their fair share.

my long support for raising the minimum wage, my long support for protecting the environment and addressing climate change, my long support for quality health care for all, my long support for a woman's right to choose, my long support for lgbt rights, my long support for immigration reform, my long support for investing in public education, my long support for investing in roads, bridges, and all public infrastructure. and my record will stand up to scrutiny on these and many other issues. in this campaign i also place a high priority on addressing what is happening overseas.

especially in the middle east and north africa. as general petraeus famously asked during the invasion of iraq in 2003, tell me, how does this end? the 2016 presidential election will go a long way to answering that question. how does this end? we have a choice in 2016. prosperity through peace or endless war. this week we had the great news of a breakthrough with iran. what a change. let's give all those that helped make it happen a big hand, especially president obama and his team. [ applause ] avoiding war is worth every bit of our energy. the iran agreement was crafted with the help of russia, china, the united kingdom, france and germany. this is the right way to make the world safer.

yes, working with our united nations partners, this is the model of a sensible path for america. leading with strong, smart, patient diplomacy. absolutely. this is also a different course than the failed unilateral republican approach to the world. that's the choice we have in 2016. we need to reject once and for all the belligerent advocates of conflict. as governor and senator, i attended too many funerals of servicemen and servicewomen killed in iraq. a sad and avoidable chapter in american foreign policy.

i've long been supporting the course that president obama and secretary kerry are now charting. not only with iran, but also with cuba. this has been an historic few weeks. if we're smart with our diplomacy, we can avoid these endless wars and create savings that can be better spent at home. diplomacy is the ultimate test of leadership. thank you, iowa democrats. leadership is also about seeing the future. i see a future whose diplomatic strength that a compliment to military strength. i see a future where america is

working on climate change, world food and health issues and fair trade. i see a future where less of our resources are going to quagmires overseas and more are going to help students get their education without crushing debt. more going to struggling families so that they can have true economic opportunity and have a chance to buy their own home. more going to help our seniors enjoy the dignified retirement they have worked so hard to earn. i see a future where the word coexist means something. those of different races, religious beliefs, genders, sexual orientation, cultural backgrounds can live and work together. i see a future where once again everyone has a chance at the american dream. that is the future i see. the way that we are going to do that is to first of all believe it is possible.

i believe it is possible and that's why i'm running for president and respectfully ask for your support. [ applause ] we have a special country and special planet, let's take care of both. thank you, iowa democrats, have a great evening. [ applause ] >> thank you so much, governor chafee. tlafs now i'm proud to welcome our next keynote speaker hillary rodham clinton. [ applause ]

>> as first lady, as senator from new york and secretary of state, hillary clinton has been a tenacious advocate for women and their families and a source of american strength around the world. throughout her life she has been devoted to the cause of human rights and equality, working to make our world a more peaceful and inclusive place for all. she's led the fight on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from education to health care and gotten results to bring

us closer to an america where all have the opportunity to succeed. please join me in welcoming hillary rodham clinton. [ applause ] >> thank you so much, iowa. thank you. thank you all. thank you so much. it is really a great delight to be here with all of you and with my fellow candidates. i want to congratulate all the inductees and, andy, thank you for what you're doing to bring back the democratic party in iowa. just look around this room and you can see that democrats are

united, we are energized and we are ready to win this election. now i know and you do as well that elections are always about the future. but this time i feel that even more powerfully. maybe it's because our country has worked so hard to come back from the financial crisis with president obama's leadership and the determination of the american people, we're standing again. but we're not yet running the way america should. and now we have to choose whether we're going to return to the failed top down policies that wrecked our economy before

or move forward to chart a stronger, fairer and more prosperous future. now maybe it is the grandmother in me, but this is deeply personal. there's something about becoming a grandparent. it's truly transformational. some of you know what i'm talking about. it anchors you in the present and you suddenly have this incredible, amazing little person who commands a lot of attention. but it also forces you to think about the future in a new way. what kind of world will be waiting for her? what kind of country will we have when she becomes an adult? and what are our responsibilities to shape it? i'm thinking a lot these days about my own mother and what she did for me.

abandoned and mistreated by her own family, she was out on her own by 14 working as a house maid. but she didn't give in to bitterness or despair, and i remember asking her how did you keep your resilience, how did you keep your faith in the goodness of people and a future that would be better than the past? here's what she said. someone along the way believed she mattered. the first grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and without embarrassing her brought extra food to share. the woman whose house she cleaned suggesting she go to high school so long as her work was done. and because those people

believed in her, she was able to believe in me and to give me the great gift of believing in others and in our country. so my mom wasn't surprised that my first job out of law school was at the children's defense fund. she wasn't surprised that i've spent my life fighting for women, children, families and our country. [ applause ] after all, that's what she taught me to do. and she never stopped pushing me to fight harder for others to have the same opportunities she never had. i can still hear her saying life's not about what happens to you, it's about what you do with what happens to you, so get back out there. and that's why i'm here with you

today. [ applause ] that's why i'm so determined to build a better future not just for my granddaughter, but for all of our children and grandchildren and that's why i'm never going to let the republicans rip away the progress we have made. [ applause ] you know, we democrats are in the future business. but from the republican candidates for president we see the opposite. now they may have some fresh faces, but they are the party of the past. we democrats, we look at america and we see limitless potential.

we believe in a basic bargain. if you work hard and do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead. and we believe that the measure of our success should be how much incomes rise for hard working families, not just for ceos and money managers. [ applause ] well, republicans believe something very different. their answer is always the same. cut taxes for the super wealthy, let big corporations write their own rules, that's it. trickle down economics has to be one of the worst ideas of the 1980s. [ applause ]

it is right up there with new coke, shoulder pads, and big hair. i lived through it and there are photographs and we're not going back to that. [ applause ] this past monday i laid out an agenda for raising incomes so hard working americans can afford a middle class life. an agenda for strong growth, fair growth and long-term growth. that will be my mission from the first day i'm president to the last. and this campaign has to be about how we unlock the potential of every american because that is how we unlock the potential of america itself.

now, i'm having a great debate already with republicans about what that means for our country. in the past week, governor bush scrambled to explain his statement that americans need to work longer hours. he now says he just wants part-time workers to be able to find full-time jobs. well, so do i. there's just one problem. his policies and the policies of all these republican candidates would make that harder. giving more tax cuts to those at the top won't do anything for part-time workers. rolling back rules for wall street will not help families get ahead. and getting rid of the affordable care act certainly won't help entrepreneurs. just ask the folks in the sharing economy. americans don't need lectures.

they need raises. so if republicans really want to help us, why don't they join us in breaking down the barriers so more americans can enter and succeed in the workforce, especially women. now i know that when i talk about this, some people think, i can see it in their eyes, there she goes again with the women's issues. well, i'm not going to stop, so get ready for a long campaign. [ applause ]

you see, i have this old fashioned idea we can't afford to leave anyone on the sidelines, and women who want to work should be able to do so without worrying every day about how they are going to take care of their child or what will happen if a family member gets sick. that's not a luxury. it's a growth strategy. paid leave, earned sick days, child care, minimum wage, these are not women's issues, they are family issues and they are economic issues. so i will keep fighting for them and ask you to join, and i'm going to keep fighting for equal pay because when women get shortchanged, families get shortchanged. and when families get shortchanged, our economy and our country gets shortchanged.

unlocking potential, though, goes beyond dollars and cents. it really is about our values, how we treat each other, the kind of country we want to build. on that historic day last month when marriage equality became the law of the land, republican candidates were complaining, not cheering. we even heard a call for abolishing the supreme court itself. instead of trying to turn the clock back, republicans should be joining us in saying loudly and clearly, no to discrimination once and for all.

lgbt americans should be free not just to marry, but to live, learn and work just like everybody else. [ applause ] and then there's immigration. we've heard a lot recently from the new republican frontrunner, donald trump, finally a candidate whose hair gets more attention than mine. plaz plaz [ applause ] but there's nothing funny about the hate he is spewing toward immigrants and their families. it really is shameful. and so is the fact that it took weeks for most of his fellow

republican candidates to stand up to him. the sad truth is if you look at many of their policies, it is hard to tell the difference. just look across the border in wisconsin. governor walker kicked off his campaign by rolling back reproductive rights for women and stripping union workers of their rights. we don't need any more politicians who shame and blame women for making our own reproductive health decisions or attacking unions for fighting for middle class jobs. [ applause ]

and i know there are challenges right here in iowa because you have been talking to me about them. just listen to this. iowa has fewer than 750 beds for more than 128,000 people in your state with serious mental illnesses. families worry about relatives who need help and can't get it. and the iowans i have talked to don't understand why your governor would veto a bipartisan compromise without funding a viable alternative. and that's not all. the government also said no to investing in iowa students, teachers and schools so i'm adding my voice to yours.

governor branstad, put down your veto pen. [ applause ] iowa families don't need a standoff, they need solutions. that's why we can't let republicans take us back like they are trying to do. we are not going back to trickle down economics or the wild west on wall street. we're not going back to insurance companies charging women more for the same coverage. we're not going back to denying climate change. if you ask most of these republican candidates about that, they will say, sorry, i'm not a scientist. well then why don't they start listening to those who are scientists?

look, i'm not a scientist either. i'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a brain and i'm not going to let them take us backwards. [ applause ] so please, iowa democrats, join me. let's build up our party in every corner of this state and country. elect democrats at every level. take back school boards and state houses all the way to the white house. i'm running to make our country work for you and for every american, for the struggling, the striving and the successful. for the factory workers and the food servers who have taken care of us tonight. for the veterans who served our country. for the farmers who feed us and the small business owners who take a risk. for the nurses who work the night shift and the truckers who drive for hours.

i am running for everyone who has ever been knocked down but refuse to be knocked out. i'm running for you. we're going to build an america where we don't leave anyone out or anyone behind. where if you work hard, you will do your part and get ahead. and where a father can tell his daughter, yes, you can be anything you want to be, even president of the united states! thank you all very much! [ applause ]

>> i am now excited to welcome to the stage our next keynote speaker, martin o'malley. [ applause ] throughout his 15 years of elected executive experience, martin o'malley has established himself as a bold progressive leader eager to solve big problems facing communities. governor o'malley has served in nearly every level of government. first as a member of the baltimore city council, then as

the mayor of baltimore and finally as the governor of maryland delivering results for his constituents. as mayor of baltimore, he improved education, cracked down on crime while improving police accountability and drove investment to the local community. and as governor, he signed marriage equality into law, passed the dream act, fought for environmental protections and made maryland's public schools some of the best in the country for five years in a row. no matter the role, governor o'malley has always put working families first and fought for the american dream. please join me in welcoming martin o'malley. [ applause ] >> thank you, thank you.

thank you very, very much. it is a great honor to be here tonight with all of you fine members of the iowa democratic party in the resilient city of cedar rapids. my name is martin o'malley. i am running for president. and i need your help. tonight i would like to talk with you about the american dream that we share. you and i are part of the living, self-creating mystery called the united states of america. we have been given a gift, not an old car, to be tossed aside or traded in when we're done with it, but a country and we must accept this gift with an open mind and an open heart if we are to give it to our

children and grandchildren in a stronger and healthier condition than we received it ourselves. make no mistake about it. our ability to give our children a better future depends on the strength of our country. now let me ask you all a question. how many of you firmly believe that you've enjoyed a better quality of life than your parents and grandparents? raise your hands. second question, how many of you believe just as firmly that your children and grandchildren will enjoy a better quality of life. raise your hands. that, my friends, is the question at the center of our table of democracy.

whether we are still that country where regardless of where you start, through your own hard work and your own talent and your own love of family you can still get ahead. whether we are still that nation that finds a way in every generation to include more of our people in the political and social life of our nation. fdr told my grandparents in their day not to be afraid. john kennedy told my parents that to govern is to choose. i say to you that progress is a choice. now i am not the only candidate for president who holds progressive values, but i am the only candidate for president with 15 years of executive experience. [ applause ] as a big city mayor and as a governor, turning those

progressive values into actions, getting things done, new leadership, action, not words. in baltimore we took action to save lives by reducing record high violence to record lows. we increased drug treatment to free thousands of our courageous neighbors from drug addiction. in maryland in the face of the recession, we took action to raise the minimum wage to create jobs and to make our state number one in innovation and entrepreneurship. driver's licenses for new american immigrants, marriage equality and a ban on assault weapons and we didn't just talk about it. we actually got it done. we took greater action, not less, to make our public schools number one in the country. we took action to freeze college tuition four years in a row in order to make college more

affordable for more families. we fought for the dream act and we won and we expanded family leave because when women succeed, america succeeds. as a nation, we have come a long way since the wall street crash and the bush recession of 2008. as our country teetered on the brink of a second great depression, we elected a new president in barack obama to move us forward and that is exactly what president obama has done. 64 months in a row of positive job creation. our country is clearly doing better. but most american families are not. the hard truth of our times is

this. 70% of us are earning the same or less today than we were 12 years ago. and that is the first time that that has happened this side of world war ii. there's a growing injustice in our country and economic inequality that threatens to tear us apart. wealth and power have been so concentrated in the hands of so few that it is actually taking opportunity out of the homes and the neighborhoods of the many and make no mistake about it. this did not happen by accident. powerful, wealthy special interests have used our government to create in our own country an economy that is leaves a majority of our people behind. the promise of the american dream is on the ropes, and most

days in this obstructionist republican congress it's not even a fair fight. 50 years ago the nation's largest employer was gm, and the average employee can send a kid to college for the equivalent then of two week's wages. my father, like so many of his generation, went to college only because of the gi bill, but we are saddling our kids with more college debt than any developed nation on the planet. meanwhile as wages flatline or decline for most of us, family owned businesses farms are finding it harder and harder to compete with ever larger concentrations of corporate power and monopolies. get this. last year wall street bonuses alone totaled twice what every american working at minimum wage

earned combined. tell me how it is that not a single wall street executive was convicted of a single crime related to the 2008 meltdown. not a single one. [ applause ] what have we come to as a nation that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light, but if you wreck the nation's economy you are untouchable? main street struggles. main street struggles while wall street soars and this is not the american dream, this is not how our economy is supposed to work and this is not how our country is supposed to work. we can do better.

we must return to our true selves. our economy isn't money. our economy is people. all of our people. a stronger middle class is not the consequence of economic growth. a stronger middle class is the cause of economic growth. [ applause ] therefore, we must take actions that lift incomes and wages again for all americans. can we all agree that no american family who works hard and plays by the rules should have to raise their children in poverty? so let's take action to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour wherever and however we can. let us return to the economic justice of paying overtime pay

for overtime work and expanding social security. and let's make it easier and not harder for any worker to join a labor union and collectively bargain for better wages. [ applause ] can we all agree that every american family should have the option to send their kids to earn a college degree debt free? then let's take the action to make it a reality and option for every american family. a new era of american progress calls for a new agenda to rebuild our cities as places of

justice and opportunity. it calls for a new national security strategy and new alliances that are more forward seeing and more forward acting to reduce debts and once more a new american era of progress calls for a cleaner, greener renewable energy future. [ applause ] and i am the first candidate, but let's hope i am not the last, to call for moving america forward by 2050 to a 100% clean powered electric grid for the good of our country creating good jobs and creating more opportunity. none of these things happen by chance. they do not happen by accident. to get wages to go up, there's another thing we need to do and

that is to get 11 million of our neighbors out of the underground economy and into the open light by passing comprehensive immigration reform. but there are also a couple of things we need to stop doing. as a party and as a country. among them, giving a free pass to the bullies of wall street. we must reinstitute it today. [ applause ] we must prosecute financial crimes and if a bank is too big to fail, too big to jail and too big to manage, then it's too damn big and it needs to be broken up before it breaks us up. [ applause ] and we must stop sending american jobs and profits

overseas with bad trade deals like the transpacific partnership. many of you remember the return on nafta. it was nada. we traded away good manufacturing jobs in towns and in return we got back empty promises and empty pockets. i'm fundamentally opposed to secret trade deals that our congress is forced to vote on before we're even allowed to read them. your republican governor terry branstad has shown us the direction their party would take us cutting taxes for big corporations and then telling you that iowa doesn't have the money to invest in your own children's education.

well welcome to today's republican party. they once had leaders and visionaries. lincoln, eisenhower, now they create traffic jams and dismiss science. and now the leading candidate for president is donald trump. after his racist, hate-filled comments, "the los angeles times" ran a headline, and i quote, republican field divided on donald trump's comments on mexican immigrants. divided, as in not sure he's wrong? if donald trump wants to run on a platform of demonizing immigrants, he should go back to the 1840s and run for the presidential nomination of the no nothing party.

my friends, i leave you with these final thoughts. in this summer of anger and frustration, if you become doubtful about our country's better future just talk to her young people. you'll seldom find a climate change denier, someone who wants to discriminate against gay couples or someone who wants to bash immigrants. poet laureate of the american dream, bruce springsteen asked once is a dream a lie if it doesn't come true or is it something worse? whether that dream is made true again for all american families or not, it's not up to the big banks, it's not even about the big money trying to take over the elections. it's really up to you and me. it's about whether we still have

the ability as a people to move our country forward. you have a vital choice to make and i need your help. after this election is over, when a child with a world of learning in front of him asks you who you voted for, i want you to tell that child i voted for you. when you see a dad sweating through another long shift in order to give his daughter a better future, i want you to be able to tell him, i voted for you. when you see a mom working long hours at two jobs for the dream of sending her son to college, i want you to be able to tell her, i voted for you. and when you see a young father who hungers for a job to feed his family, i want you to be able to tell him, i voted for you. we are democrats for good reasons because ours is the party of the people, ours is the party of action, ours is the party of our country's better future, ours is the party that will rebuild the american dream, and make the promise real for

all americans again. god bless you, iowa. god bless the united states of america. [ applause ] and now, for our next keynote speaker, senator bernie sanders.

[ applause ] bernie sanders is in his second term in the u.s. senate as the endorsed candidate of the vermont democratic party. prior to that, he served 16 years in the house of representatives. senator sanders was appointed as the chairman of the committee on veterans affairs and is now the ranking democrat on the budget committee. in 1981, he was elected to his first of four terms as mayor of burlington, vermont. during which time, u.s. news named him as one of the 20 best mayors in america.

as a student and civil rights activist in the '60s, sanders was a front line champion for equality. he was arrested protesting housing segregation at his college and marched on washington with dr. martin luther king jr. senator sanders was defending working and middle class families and stood up against the excesses of corporate america. please join me in welcoming senator bernie sanders. [ applause ] >> thank you very much for that generous introduction.

and my wife jane and i are just so delighted to be in the great state of iowa with you tonight. and i'm also delighted to be here following other remarks from great democrats who have dedicated their entire lives to public service. this is a great team. and i thank them all. let me begin by suggesting something to you that i think very few candidates ever say. and that is, given the reality of economics and politics in america today, no president, not the best can bring about the changes we need in this country unless there is a political revolution.

and what that means, what that means in all honesty is the powers that be in washington, the billionaire class, the koch brothers, the lobbyists, the corporate interests are so powerful that nothing will get done unless millions of people stand up and loudly proclaim enough is enough. this country belongs to all of us and not a handful of billionaires. my point is that no president does it alone. we need a mass movement from coast to coast.

so that republicans understand that when they give tax breaks to their billionaire friends, when they try to cut social security on medicare, we know what's going on and that vote will be their last term in congress. and here's something else that all of us should know. today in our great country, we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. today. in the history of the world. but most americans don't know that because almost all of the wealth rests in the hands of the few.

america now has more wealth and income inequality than any major country on earth. and it is worse today than at any time since 1928. the issue of wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time. it is the great political issue of our time. it is the great economic issue of our time. and together, that is an issue that we will address. let me be as clear as i can be. there is something profoundly wrong when the top .1% own as much as the bottom 90%. there's something profoundly