capitals story, gorg's eorgia's lieutenant governor will discuss the issues in his state. be sure to watch live tuesday morning and join the discussion. for nearly 20 years, in-depth has featured the nation's best known nonfiction writers for live conversations about their books. this year as a special project, we're featuring best selling fiction writers for our monthly program. join us live sunday at noon eastern with colson whitehead, author of the underground railroad, which was awarded the pulitzer prize and national back award. he also wrote zone one, sag harbor. our special series with colson whitehead sunday, live from noon to 3:00 p.m. eastern on book tv on c-span2.

and we are live on capitol hill, standing by for a discussion to get under way about political civility and bipartisanship with a series of lawmakers. it is the snacks and cocktails portion of the event hosted by georgetown. we'll have live coverage when it gets under way here on c-span3.

so we're waiting for the discussion on political civility to get under way. a group of lawmakers coming by here on capitol hill, this just a day before president trump is set to give his first state of the union address before a joint session of congress. our state of the union coverage begins tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern with a preview. we'll follow that with the president's speech at 9:00 and then get your reaction on the phone afterwards. all live on c-span.

t also can watch at cspan.org or listen on the free radio app. earlier today we got a chance to preview his address from kellyanne conway. let's take a look at what she had to say while we wait for this event to get started. >> thank you for being here. and excuse my appearance. i fell and broke my arm a couple weeks ago, so i'm just getting by here, but we're eager to talk with kellyanne conway, key adviser in helping shape the president's policies and his message and we'll start by talking about the state of the union tomorrow night. a big speech. and a year ago the president gave his first speech to a joint address to congress and he got pretty good reviews. it lasted a short while because in the days that followed are there were a number of controversies including some by him that sort of created a more polarized environment on the

hill and i'm wondering looking to the speech tomorrow night, what can the president do to set that bipartisan tone to try to achieve those deals that he wants with democrats in congress without getting sort of kicked on which the script so to speak? >> first of all, thank you for having me. thanks to the "washington post" and any other sponsors. we appreciate the platform today. the president is working on a bipartisan forward-looking speech that is positive in tone and content and what that really means is when working on the speech, it is a reflection on on the past year's accomplishments, but also not as just checking a box, but really what is the nexus between what has happened in your own life or your own business or own aspirations. and then how is that a frame work for working together in 2018. i would point out a few things that are pretty recent. one is about two, three weeks ago now the president held forth for 55 minutes uninterrupted

unscripted with a bipartisan group of legislators in the cabinet room. it was quite unexpected i think mainly by the media, the press pool who were covering it and they were pleased to have that kind of live unfiltered and unscripted exchange between the president and the legislators. that is good for transparency, accountability, democracy. and it is that kind of conversation we need to keep having. that particular issue was about -- that meeting was about immigration. and you see an openness and flexibility by this president very recently on the daca recipients, the d.r.e.a.m.ers, he will address that tomorrow in his speech. immigration will be one of the major five or six points covered. and i would the go back to august 21 when the president came out with his afghan any po policy speech. a little bit of a diversion from where he was during the campaign.speech. a little bit of a diversion from where he was during the

campaign. i know you wrote about it at the time and were criticized for saying it is a new president trump on afghanistan, new strategy. but indeed it was. so i'd like to share those examples of openness and flexibilities. it will be bipartisan in tone because that is the only way to function in this town. we saw during the government shutdown very unfortunate that folks wanted it, but you saw to reopen the government, you literally needed bipartisan cooperation. we were very happy that many democrats came around, bucked their party leadership and voted to reopen the government a week ago. >> and you talked about immigration which will come up in the speech tomorrow. the white house has a framework that has been previewed in the last couple of days that does include something for the d.r.e.a.m.ers, legal status for the d.r.e.a.m.ers. is that a red line for the president, is he committed to seeing some sort of legal status for the hundreds of thousands of kids who are here without documentation? >> the president has said that and in fact as you saw the

framework currently includes resolution for 1.8 million. so it would include those who never availed themselves of that after president obama took action in 2012. so it actually includes those who never took the action in addition to the roughly 700,000 or 800,000 who did. so that is there. but also there is $25 billion for enhanced security at the border. we are a nation and the president will talk about how a sovereign nation must have physical borders, that we as a nation have spent billions over men decades helping other countries secure their borders and protect their sovereignty. and he believes and has successfully won on and is governing on enhancing security at the border. that includes the wall and other security measures. but that also -- i would say that is his red line. but again, a great symbol of how cooperation and discussion can

be had on the same issue with two very divergent priorities. i think if you look at the conversation in the past several months, if not year, when the democrats talk about immigration, they basically are talking about the d.r.e.a.m.ers, the daca recipients. this president put out a 70 point plan where he talks about merit based immigration, an end to chain migration, an end to the visa lottery system, obviously border security and now daca recipients. >> as his political counselor, how do you help him navigate the currents in the republican base right now? breitbart has taken to calling him amnesty don. how does he manage being compassionate with the d.r.e.a.m.ers and coming up with some sort of legal status for them while satisfying his base that is very hard line on immigrati immigration? >> that is not a conversation that we have because he is the president of all americans including the millions who didn't vote for him.

that is what he said on november 9 in his speech. and he added that when we were up in the residence, and he said it at the hilton. he said i'm the president of all americans, even those who didn't support me and there are more than a few of you i believe were his words or something there about. and you have to take that seriously as president because it is just like the tax cut and jobs act, people were lied to that it couldn't pass and if it did it would only help the wealthy and people now see it is helping upwards of 3 million people already, 274 companies have taken action as of this morning was the last count i saw. and you're talking about a direct investment in your workplaces, your workforces, raises, obviously bonuses. but also capital investments in skills training, education for on your employees, the broader communities being invested in.

and even some benefits that have long been seen as the province of the other party, i think that is ridiculous because everybodying thineverybody i thinks about child care and wellness. but you have many job creators taking action because of this tax cut and they are saying that because of the tax cut, we are doing x, y and z. mr. a there are plenty of people who will benefit that doesn't support the president. i'll give you the best example. in addition to working on the big issues of the day like tax reform, infrastructure, immigration, i tend to some things in my portfolio that i can legitimately refer to as nonpartisan issues. and when i go around the country meeting with grieving families or talking to law enforcement officers or health professionals or faith based community leaders, i don't ask them how did you vote, are you

registered. you just can't care when you're serving the country. and i do think people who feel that way are the ones who should serve in government. >> and today's a busy news day as every day -- -- catholic meeting, there is no one in the front row and the audio/visuals never work.

so we'll test that. thank you all for coming. i'm director of the initiative on catholic social thought and public life and we are the host of this. we're very grateful to the chaplain's office for their health. father pat and karen. and our friends at the democracy fund who support our efforts at civil dialogue at a time when it is more important than ever. we do a bunch of stuff. we do large dialogues up at georgetown and i'll mention a couple of those at the end. we do some convenings. but probably the most important thing we do is reach out to young leaders here in old, very old, as i'm told by my children all the time, but my experience is a lot of young leaders come to washington full idealism and motivated by their faith and they get pulled into the wars. and the great temptation in washington is not corruption i don't think, it is cynicism. and now especially we wanted to hold up a different vision and different kind of leadership. so here we are, a day before the state of the union, which is as close as you get to american liturgy. i'm catholic. you know, there is an entrance procession, they stand, they

sirk sit, they don't kneel, but they are tempted. there is clapping, sometimes booing. it's gotten so bad who was it that said you lie to the president of the united states. but my memories of the house chamber are not about state of the union. they are when pope francis was here a couple years ago and i had the privilege of being in the chamber. never seen it that quiet. i've never seen people that happy frankly. seems like the only thing they could agree on was they wanted to be with the pope. and he had a different message. he said each son or daughter of a given country has mission, a personal and social responsibility. your responsibility as a member of congress and i would suggest also as people who work with congress is to enable this country by your legislative activity to grow as a nation. you are called to defend and

preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens, the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. that is not where we are today. so today we gather for an hour to hear from three leaders who have a different vision. they are not your typical partisans. we have an african-american senator who is a republican who challenged the republican president for his response to charlottesville and what he said about african nations. we have a member of the house who is a business person who is running for president to take on bipartisanship at a time of great partisanship. and to lead this off, we're especially glad to hacongresswon dingell who has served all her life for all the toe workuto wo.

before and after she was in the house, she was a bridge builder. as you know, she comes from michigan, 12th district. in the bio i read, it said shaped by her catholic education. she works for human dignity and for children and women. she is graduate of georgetown, two degrees. >> my 20 year plan. >> put this is on the extra credit. and one of the things as i was thinking about these three members, what struck me is for them the personal is political and the political is personal. and i read i think it was recently you talked to high school students about drugs, opoid crisis, and there were a lot of experts and congresswoman dingell talked about her own family, her own father, her

sister, mary grace, and she said i hope what happened to our family won't happen to your family. and i identified with that. my brother wrote a book about addiction. the other thing i read and loved about congresswoman dingell is she offers an annual holiday greeting called the dingell jingle. and this is the two closing verses of this year's jingle. in the congress we will keep on fighting, maybe we can find some common ground, how about funding c.h.i.p. and fixing daca before we take those jet planes out of town. no matter if red or blue, let's keep taking a stand, let's work hand-in-hand. so congresswoman dingell is a hard working -- listed as one of the most hard working members of the house. she is a bridge building and

apparently a rhyming member of congress. and so the questions we ask her to offer a few thoughts is how can you be both principal hled civil in a time of great division. what are the behaviors and actions that help and hurt. and what advice would she have for young leaders who are trying to practice politics as a vocation. so thank you very much, congresswoman. >> thank you. first of all, i've been losing my voice for three months, which you could joke and say republicans are happy, but not the right thing to say as we're standing here today. thank you for that very kind introduction. and the dingell jingle started with my husband long ago, so i'm just trying to keep up with him years later. i sort of laugh when you talk about -- father, it's good to be here with you too. he's been a good friend of my family for a long time and they

know when i'm at church because i'm always in the last pew. but it is good to be with all of you and talk about a subject that is very passionate for me long before i ever got in the congress. i recommend to all of you -- how many of you are georgetown graduates? a lot of you. i went back to georgetown in the '90s and got my master's from the local studies program and i lobbied for the doctoral program in liberal studies which is an excellent program for everybody that wants to keep learning and studying. and some day i'll get my doctorate from that program. we lobbied for that program for a decade and i think life should be life long learning. but interestingly, my master's thesis was on civility in congress. so it is a subject that -- and in the '90s -- this is all right from my heart because it's been a crazy day and i didn't even look at the questions, which i

should have. but -- so you are really getting this straight from me. but in the '90s, i began to worry about what we were witnessing. and i think that there is a real problem that people don't get to know each other. i'm sort of a -- i say i'm not old, but i'm seasoned. most of you or many of you may know my husband is a great man, john dingell, and i married him when i was a child but we've been married for on 38 years. and i married him in '80 when it was a very different congress and a very different time. it was actually a headline that said that i was going to work. i kept mica rear at general motors and congressional spouses didn't work then. people moved here and they had relationships. and i watched things change. i was part of watching the

change. any member by the '90s that didn't go home every weakekend will lose their election. families started -- i can't remember what year in was, but we briefed spouses when they would get here and some would say people say i have to move here, but do i have to move here? and i said nobody can tell you what to do. every sdriblgdistrict is differ about that everyone marria. every marriage is different. and she said you take the guilt away from me for not moving here. and it is a really complicated time. but i think that in the '90s is when you began to see people didn't -- by the early 2000s, and i love newt gingrich. don't agree with him on much, but newt and maryanne were very close friends. i think a lot of things that he did in the mid-90s contributed

to what has been somewhat of a loss of civility. but republicans trusted me enough that we actually organized bipartisan retreats. and i worked very hard to keep them from being political. wasn't always successful, but tried hard. and we talked about a lot of issues back then and the lack of relationships was really one -- and everybody loved those weekends because they got to know people they would never get to know otherwise. and even -- i have been here three years and i have nothing on my ethics report because i'm just -- but what i'm doing isn't necessarily the right thing to do either. because codels were a way that you traveled with people and you got to know people. you developed relationships. and what has happened is that members fly in on mondays, i didn't realize we didn't have

votes on wednesday morning and i said to my staff put me on the 6 ox a.m. o6:00 a.m. on wednesday. tonight i have eight receptions, tomorrow night i think there are 15. and i'm out of here on wednesday. that didn't give you a lot of time. in the '80s and '90s, we'd go to dinners, republicans and democrats and administration people. you'd talk about ideas. i had a really great conversation with the director of homeland security and nobody would believe the conversation i had with the secretary of labor yesterday. but the opportunities aren't there for people to just sit and talk. so i think that is one of the -- i would encourage you, i don't know where you work, if you are in incorporations, if you're staff, when i get to know each other. first bit of advice is lose the

electronics. pick up the foin aphone and tal people. every take i give to a high school or college or graduation speech, we do too much texting and not enough just talking to somebody. really having a dialogue. you get a lot more out of a dialogue. but i have many friends on both sides of the aisle. there are days i feel more comfortable on the republican side of the house than the democratic side. but it also -- most people don't know this, but i was a republican when i married my husband. and very active. i was a teenage republican camp counselor. and have many friends. spence abraham was my date for my husband prom. so that tells you. and i knew his twins when they were born. we had relationships that go way back. but i say to people i was

milliken republican. he was a moderate, but probably more liberal than some of the democrats i know. and i'm a dingell democrat. both respected people, both reached across the aisle. john dingell came from a day where he worked with everybody. and the ranking minority on the energy and commerce used to say that there were so many dingell provi broyhill bills that people thought his first name was dingell. and he is still one of his best friends. so fred upton is one of my best friends. we went to the state of the state last tuesday night together in lansing. we don't -- fred and i actually agree more than we disagree. fred is really out there working immigration right now. and trying to find a solution. we're both members of problem solver. but i think what you have to do is talk to people. you got to go have a

conversation. john mullen, another michigan member, his office is right across from mine, he's very conservative. but a christian and we do many of the prayer breakfast things together. he pulls me in and i go wherever he asks me to go. and we keep talking about health care. and we keep talking about daca. and david trott as now -- i thought i was going to die of shock when he said in a television program he would not vote for another budget extension without daca in it. and i think that too many times people think that we're in the middle of a war of words. and these are real people's lives we're talking about. and that is what you have to -- david bratt from the freedom caucus is one of my dearest friends. and ild say aren't you wor i'll say aren't you worried about this or that? you won't find common ground if you won't sit down and talk to people. so we can respectfully disagree.

and i've made news over the holiday when i said that i would work with president trump on an infrastructure bill. this country, it is not only broken bridges and roads that are in terrible disrepair and potholes. come to michigan after this and i just got another flat tire because of the potholes. but the infrastructure is water. flint is far from the only city across this country and every community deserves to have access to broadband. actually i would put far more money into infrastructure. but my job was to represent the working men and women in my district. and they need us to be there. john delaney just walked in and i love john delaney and he is even more articulate than i am at some of these issues. but i said i'd work with him on any issues that benefit the people of my district. and if he does something that i disagree with him, is morally wrong, he will need a buzz saw like one he's never seen.

and he has. i represent the largest group of muslims in this country. i'll tell you something, i'm a catholic girl. and i'm very proud of my catholic roots. and the nuns have put in me the backbone and values that -- i went to boarding school in 5th great. but i was catholic educated from preschool through. but i didn't think at this age i'd be defending freedom of religion which is a fundamental pillar of our constitution. and the president is just dead wrong. we put together in a day and a half, we shut down the detroit airport -- it was the young people that called me and said we want to do a protest at the airport. and karen moss, head of the -- another friend of mine that we work on everything together said sure, we'll help you guys. we had 20,000 people in a day about that and the airport cooperated with us. they actually let me get up in a baggage carrier and said will you talk to them and then when

you're done will you get them to go home so we can reopen the airport. we didn't have the scene that you saw at other airports. people came together because i called the head of the airport and said these kids want to organize this. and what happened spontaneously was people from all walks of life -- you couldn't believe this crowd. it was people from all over the state and it was people from all walks of life because we did it in a way that respected each other. i know knmy values and when the president is wrong, i tell him to his face. but if something that will help working men and women, families that need a helping hand up, not a hand out, then i'm going to work with everybody and anybody. i'm working with him on the opoid drug problem. i went to the white house. we had a crisis in this country. so i guess -- i'm going to let john delaney take over with his wisdom, but i would say get to know people. don't be afraid of a conversation. find common ground. respect each other. and lose the electronics.

thanks very much. [ applause ] >> come on up, john. that was terrific. those nuns taught you well. they always do. john delaney as you know is congressman from maryland. you may not know he comes from a blue collar family in new jersey. he went to school on a scholarship from his dad's union and rotary club i think. he represents one of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. he is not your typical politician. he is working against gerrymandering. he has authored a piece of legislation to open up our elections. and something surprising about john, it is not that he is the first democrat to announce for president this time around. it is not that he would be the first member of the house to

serve as president in a long time. it is that he is the only ceo of a publicly held company that serves in the house of representatives. he is a decrease who ismocrat w successful businessman. entrepreneur of the year according to ernst and young. one of the 50 world's greatest leaders according to fortune. they must have really good scout this is washington. he went to georgetown university and a lesson for all of you, he and his wife, april, have reinvested back in georgetown university in public service. education and internships and experience there. he has been a member of the board of georgetown, one of the lessons here is you ought to go to georgetown. but he's active in his parish, little flower. supporter of catholic charities. he is most known i suppose for

the bipartisan infrastructure bill. a lot of people talk about infrastructure. john actually did something. but two things struck me as i've had a chance to meet and have a people with john. but one, people make fun of the fact that he has announced for president. one of the headlines was what is john delaney thinking. and he answered very directly in the pages of the "washington post." the american people are far greater than the sum of our political parties. it is time for us to rise among our broken politics and renew the spirit that enabled us to chaefr t achieve the impossible. and the other thing i read, and i don't know how i came across it, but was a statement about his father after his father's death. and it was a long wonderful tribute about this electrician and his pickup truck and two kids and his mom and his

grandchildren. at the very end, he said as i look back at my life, i realize that my dad taught me something utterly invaluable. he taught me to work hard, to never back down, to stand up for your friends, and most importantly to take care, protect and love your family. in his world is how you judge yourself. that is not a bad message for us, for a member of the house or even for a president. so i'm delighted that john delaney is with us. >> it's really great to be with you. that was very moving. thank you very much. nice see everyone. a lot of friends from george down. i do concur one of the best things certainly in my life was going to georgetown because i met my wife there. and it's been an amazing community. i went to the law school, i didn't go to undergrad.

graduated from the law school in 88 today. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.'88 today. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.today. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.oday. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.day. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.ay. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.y. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me.. before some of you were born. so it has been an amazing community for me. hello, father. for 30 years it has been an amazing community. and i've learned a lot. not only in my he heducation, b from my engagement in the community. one thing that i didn't quite appreciate fully but came to appreciate it more with my involvement in the university is the great jesuit motto that we should be women and men for others. and i think it is a very kind of simple and straightforward way to live our lives. it is definitely a good way to live our lives. and i've tried to do that as best i can with my life and certainly with my time in service in the congress of the united states which is an amazing privilege. i do think as we look to the future the central question

facing this nation, more so than any particular piece of policy, is how do we begin to unify a terribly divided and fractured nation which is what we find ourselves living in right now. and what has happened to politics across the last several decades, we've always had partisan politics. and that leads to a very healthy debate. as george washington discussed in his farewell address where i he warned about the dangers of hyper partisan politics. i he warned about the dangers of hyper partisan politics.i he warned about the dangers of hyper partisan politics. mr. where we've evolved to hard edge party before country is in my judgment just terribly destructive. and it really puts into question one of the great assets of this nation which is our resiliency,

our ability to respond and unify as a people, to respond to great challenges and opportunities. one of the things that i thinkm this ability to snap back really quickly even if we make a mistake. and i think that is really in question right now because of how divided the country is. it is tearing communities apart, even tearing families apart. how many of you know families that stopped talking because of what happened last election. people are just marrying people in the same political party. maybe the most or biggest problem with it is it has prevented us from doing anything. really for decades, we have failed as a country to respond to tremendous change that has occurred. economically, socially, culture alley, demographically, from a

national security perspective. when you go decades without the action needed by the leadership, you pay a very high price. you pay a very high price. and i worry it will happen again because the world is about to change even faster. technology, automatic make, machine learning, these things are having profound effect on society, on the future of work, on our demographics, environment. on our security risks. and so we need to really rise above this and return to our core mission which is really serving the people and working for the common good of the citizens. and that is where in many ways this kind of social justice mission that is so important to the catholic church, so important to georgetown, so important to the jesuits is

really what should animate our lives. working for the common good, trying to shape a world and future that is more just, that is more fair, that is consistent with our values of free market, entrepreneurial kind of rule of law based society, but where we're constantly making progress to improve the lives of our citizens here and around the world. one of the reasons i've been such a big admirer of our pope who i think right now is probably the most popular person in the world is that he speaks so eloquently on these issues and he reminds those of us who are catholic faith is important to us what we love most about our church. that commitment to the poor, the commitment to shape a world that is more just for our citizens. and that is what i think has been so exciting about our leadership in the church. and i think our leadership -- you know, his leadership style

could rub off on some people in government and i think we'd all be better off for it. but the good news is we can fix all these problems. the good news is i believe that resiliency is still there. it may be a little below the surface, but it is still there. all of the issues that we failed to con on frofront we in fact c confront. if you think about what has happened across the last 50 years, about 75% of the world lived in poverty. and about 25% of the world was interconnected. so we lived in isolated communities. we largely lived in isolated communities and the poverty rate around the world was staggering. today 50 years later, the world is entirely interconnected. i think the global interconnection rate is about 90%. the world has become smaller. and the extreme poverty straight about 10%.

so that means that billions of people have been lifted out of poverty because of progress, because of economic progress, because of technological advances, because of people being committed despite government inaction to make the world a better place. so if that is not the hand of god, i don't know what is. so i think what we have to do and i think institutions like georgetown really are showing the way, we have to recommit ourselves back to our core mission which is serving the common good of our citizens. we have to start acting like half of the country is not entirely wrong about everything they believe which is what the political parties would lead us to believe. we have on to stop listening to people who are just not honest. for decades we've listened to the parties basically tell the american people that everyone in government is either an idiot or a sellout, which they are not. and we have to get back to a more civil discourse where we restore respect to the profession of public service. and we come together with

confidence, we work together for the common good which is something that i'm committed to do and a lot of the lessons i've learned in my life, i learned at georgetown either in that law school building, well, i didn't learn quite as much, but in my two decades being engaged in the university, it is something that i'm most proud of to have done in my life. so it is great to be here about that. >> and you also provided an example, but you're teaching the rest of us, could you take a few questions on the topic? >> absolutely. >> you talked about the polarizing political situation. recently you have a case in a d.c. court, defamation case over the issue of project meritos and the reporter going in undercover supposedly providing a report where people are on tape saying that they were either paying or encouraging people to go to trump rallies and incite

violence. certainly the other side is contesting that, that is why it is in court. but assuming that was true and that is determined that there were groups that were paying people to go to trump rallies and cause physical violence, it seems like we've crossed a line. what should be done in that case? >> i think it comes down to leadership. to some extent it is pretty simple. as long as we elect leaders on both sides of the aisle who talk about half the country as if they are entirely wrong about everything that they believe, we're going to continue to perpetuate this brand of hyper partisan politics. which as i said is tearing us apart and preventing us from doing anything. so i think at the end of the day, it really does come down to leadership. but the american people get the leaders they deserve. so i just think the next generation of americans, because my generation hasn't handled this as well have to think differently about what kind of qualities we want in our

leaders. we want them to be honest, we want them to conduct themselves with integrity and show respect. and if we start rewarding those things in our elections, people here will change real quick. >> all right. we'll move on. thank you very much. sthch [ applause ] as you leave, john, i have a story. john said the pope seems more popular with his message than congress seems with his. shortly after the pope came, i had a chance to meet with a number of senators and we talked about daca, we talked about the budget and all that. and at the very end, i said how come you folks never talk about poverty? how come there is so little talk about work for everybody? and there was a lot of hemming and hawing. and finally one of the members said you know what, we don't think it is that popular.

we don't think it is politically attractive. and i said, well, let me just give you a point of view. on a good day, the united states senate breaks into the teens in terms of its popularity. and on a bad day the pope falls into the 80s. and all he does is talk about the poor. maybe you ought to try it. and they sort of nodded and said, well, this is a nor that doesn't shy from talking about poverty and opportunity. senator scott as you know is a republican from south carolina. he is a member of the senate finance committee, health and education, labor and pensions, banni banking and housing and urban affairs, but his story is more powerful than any political. raised by a single mom. mentored by a powerful figure that taught him that everyone

deserves an opportunity and that every opportunity ought to be seized. he -- i had read over the weekend you had a town hall down in south carolina. and ivanka trump was there and senator graham was there. and he said tim is the smartest guy in washington. that is not saying much. but he is the smarte esest guy washington. my experience with senator scott, you won't remember this, but i'll just take a minute to say this, a couple years ago we had a summit on poverty, catholics and evangelicals and others. and senator scott was one of the few leaders who agreed to come. the other leader who agreed to come was the president of the united states. and when he agreed to come was the time we had given to senator scott. and we called up and said as politely as we could would you

be willing to move around a little so we could have the president be on a panel. >> basically you said you're moving. i said okay. >> so we had the president, you know, a full thing, c-span, cnn. and following that was senator scott. and not surprisingly, some of the folks left and some of the cameras shut down. and you can imagine what most senators would do in that situation. senator scott couldn't have been more gracious. he said i have a message and we had several hundred people to listen to him, but i learned then something about humility, something about the importance of message over personality was a very gracious thing to do. the other thing i remember is when our country was so divided by the killings of these black men and people were saying this

and that and it was very tough time, senator scott took to the floor and i want to just read what he said. he said he talked of his own experience of anger, frustration, sadness and humiliation, for being targeted for nothing more than being yourself. recognize this. just because you do not feel the pain and anguish of another does not mean that it does not exist. to ignore their struggles, our struggles to make them disappear, it simply leaves you a blind american family, very vulnerable. we must come together, fulfill what we all know is possible here. love, understanding, fairness. so he is working, he is an example of the bipartisanship we're asking you to talk about how we can bring civility to the bitterness, how we can bring

bipartisan, what advice you have for young leaders. but this is a humble public leader who actually practices what he preaches. thank you senator. >> thank you. thank you for that very kind introduction. and i will say that for me, the issue of poverty is not a sexy issue, not a popular issue, it is an issue that i lived through. and if you live through something, hopefully you have i guess the insight as well as the foresight to let that continue to rchgerminate in you so you c help. >> if you could talk about the importance of civility and how you work across the aisle. >> sure. civility is just not important at all. how is that?

keep going? so listen, i think we -- anybody ever gone to high school? this is good. want to know my audience. college? georgetown maybe? good job. so here is what i learned in high school and the lessons don't really change that much from high school from my perspective. typically people find themselves in groups. and it starts probably before high school, but in high school it crystallizes. you're a jock, a pothead, the academic which i never was. as a matter of fact when cory booker and i work on legislation together, i saw he graduated in respect cum laud and i graduated thank you laudi. reality is if you remember which group you were in, perhaps the groups that you wanted to be in, the groups that you felt isolated from, you start

understanding and appreciating this whole political world that we're living in today. with one addition. today it is now in vogue to speak about those not in your group in the most salacious and vicious ways. and you are rewarded by doing so by the friends you have within your group. that is the breakdown of the american experiment of a melting pot. we have a responsibility not as elected officials, but as you human being as those of us who are part of the american tapestry to reinforce the values that make us great. one of the reasons why i think finding civility in the senate is so important, i want to make sure that i'm a part of those examples who are leading in the right direction. so when i'm working with cory booker on legislation, or when we are actually going out to speak to schools, it sends a

message not when we start talking, but before we start talking. it says maybe there are folks, he calls us the bald black men that's what he calls us. i'm just glad he allows republicans in that caucus. they don't always do that. i thought y'all would get that later, too. so it's just, it allows us -- the seed to germinate and for something to spring above the soil that can be instructive and constructive. there are a number of examples of legislative victories that have happened because i worked in a bipartisan fashion and frankly, on some of the legislation that we have seen some real success behind, i didn't go to him, he came to me. so it works both ways. i think our future's incredibly bright as long as we remember that we are single american family, and every time that we find ourselves at odds, which typically in families, you do

that, you find yourselves at odds, come to the table. break some bread and make something good happen. so happy to answer some questions if you have them, too. >> how about in the back. >> how do we bring people together here in d.c. to focus on human rights internationally? i think that's slipping through the cracks right now. >> i think there's a group, thinking about the middle east, are you guys familiar at all with apac? it's a group of americans for basically a strong israel in the middle east, but they have done a fabulous job of bringing republicans and democrats to the table with a single-minded approach. one of the ways that we bridge that gap is not trying to figure out whether we agree on economic policy. whether we agree on bank reform. find an area where folks who disagree with one another on many other topics, find the area

where there's common ground. focus on that. when we do that, we do that very well. i think one of the ways we do that throughout the world is finding the common bond that draws us together, and whatever that issue is for the two folks or the two groups that come together, it makes all things possible. >> you spoke out courageously [ inaudible ] on africa. have you done a lot of work on africa. how do we get people to see the common ground we have with people half a world away? >> we first have to start with every single human being on earth has intrinsic value. i don't have to agree with who you are. i don't have to agree with what you think. i don't have to agree with anything. but if i start there, it allows me to continue the conversation on the right track. i can have very strong disagreements with my friends, but i never question their intentions or their motivations. when i start questioning your

intentions, your motivations, i'm saying something about who you are and not what you're fighting about. very different positions to be in. >> ten years ago, there was this idea that the digital revolution was going to create a renaissance in democracy and democratic institutions and today, it looks like it's putting them in increasing peril and fragility. my question for you is, how are you using technology and data to sort of fill the civic gaps, or to improve the deliberative and knowledge-seeking functions of the senate, especially, and what would you like to see? are you experimenting? i know cory booker is really great on this stuff. >> he has a million likes. i have like 12. i'm experimenting, yes. >> is the community helping you back home? that's the other thing.

it's a two-way street. >> i think in the senate, we are probably, number one, cory and a few others who either run for president or are thinking about running for president are top five. i'm in the top ten in the use of technology, maybe six or seven. i'm not quite sure exactly where i am. the fact of the matter is that technology is another vehicle or conduit for the message. the question that we should start with is what is your message and who is your audience, and what do you want to communicate. my message is hope and opportunity. my agenda is called the opportunity agenda. we focus on educational choice, we focus on work skills, we focus on tax reform, we focus on one other issue that i feel like i'm up here -- what did i say?

so frankly, the reality of it is as i look for ways to communicate those issues, technology becomes a primary driver of my communication. good news for me is i have a very diverse audience that i'm communicating to. my comments from a racial perspective draws some folks in that like me. other folks that hate me. my stand on political and especially economic issues draws the exact opposite from both sides. my twitter is just a freak show. but it also allows me to communicate the core message of hope and opportunity to my audience. so it brings me into a real world where i'm fascinated, sometimes frustrated, but typically fascinated by the comments of folks. but i also find people signing up to have a conversation about a topic that we would never have been in the same room because we

are so different, but that one common bond that we talked about earlier allows me to address some of the issues across the board. >> i heard you speak earlier, you spoke in the white house in december about the piece of legislation you and cory booker worked on and i was wondering if you could speak to that at length now that the bill has passed. >> absolutely. after the charlottesville incident, the president and i were on two very different pages. he invited me to the white house to perhaps talk through some of the challenges i had with his comments that i found indefensible and disgusting. and so i went to the white house. >> was there a tape? >> listen, he was -- i think he was very interested to hear, to listen, which i thought was

wonderful. as i have said several times since then, he's 70 something years old. i have never seen someone change their mind in single conversation but i'm not trying to change your destination, just your direction at times. so one thing that he asked me, how can i be helpful from a legislative standpoint. i said my legislation investing in opportunity act, is the way that you can help distressed communities live a better life, see more opportunities, and basically, with the investing in opportunity act, it diverse your capital gains tax for up to seven years. you still have to pay it but we defer it so you can make a long-term investment in a distressed community, where 50 million americans live. he thought that was a pretty good idea, and very quickly after the meeting, started taking a very positive stand on the legislation and postured himself as someone who would be

supportive of it being included in the tax reform package. so when it got to the nitty-gritty, having the president of the united states on board for that legislation, it was very helpful for me to keep it as a part of the final tax reform act that passed. so now all over the country, governors are working on, within their states, areas that they can now designate as an opportunity zone so that they, because control leaves washington and goes to the states which is wonderful, those states will now be empowered to figure out where they want to invest some of these private sector resources into these areas, and my understanding is that there will be opportunities perhaps on a federal level but specifically on the state level, to take grants, private sector dollars, and do really interesting work and fascinating work in investments in these communities. i think the future is going to be brighter for the kids that grew up in the communities where i did, and that's my mission, to

make sure we tackle this issue and we don't quit until we die. so it doesn't matter what role you play as long as your mission stays the same. thank you all. >> well, we have had three very different, midwest, midatlantic, southern perspectives, republican, democrat, different backgrounds, all making a plea for principled civility. civility is not softness. it can be an expression of strength. we can be political but not be completely blinded by politics, by partisanship. these are real issues of life and death, war and peace, of who moves ahead, who gets left behind. so there will be a lot of conflict. i don't think the three members we've had agree on everything, or even a majority, but their point is that we are better

served when we engage and persuade each other rather than stand back and condemn each other. i want to thank you for coming. i want to thank our partners at the democracy fund. i want to thank our friends in the chaplain office, karen and father conroy. i especially want to thank angela miller mcgraw, who pulled this together. i want to invite you to make sure you left your name and e-mail to be part of these. we do a number of these. a few of them are on the hill. the next one is going to be at georgetown law center on the 26th of february with father greg boyle and georgetown law faculty on criminal justice, gangs and rehabilitation. if you have never heard father greg boyle, it is an amazing experience. we do larger dialogues, not restricted to young people, and we have two coming up, a week

from today at georgetown in our chapel, we will have cardinal tobin from newark. cardinal tobin is not your typical cardinal. some of you may have seen the picture of him lifting weights in cut-offs on the front page of the "new york times." he was the archbishop who stood up when governor pence of indiana said we're not going to have any more refugees in our state. he's accompanied people facing deportation to hearings in newark. he's going to talk about the moral, the human faith dimensions of welcoming the stranger. we will hear from a daca student. georgetown is working very hard for our daca members of our community and other immigrants. and then on the 13th, we are up against or looking forward to the fifth anniversary of pope francis' election and we have a remarkable evening on the 13th

at georgetown. we have father antonio spadaro, one of the pope's closest confidants, the editor of sort of the eyes and ears of the pope coming to talk about his global vision. then we have kirsten powers of cnn, greg irwinson from catholic news service and then an amazing nun, sister norma pimento, who works on the border between the u.s. and mexico. the pope's favorite nun. talk about what has been the message, what has been the impacts, what's incomplete about pope francis' leadership and what are the challenges for the future. so we hope you will join us. we think, my sense is that what we are offering together is a different vision. it lifts people up from the bottom.

it's a vision that says we can move forward together, that we can be principled and civil. we can argue and come to agreement. that's why we're working with the democracy fund. that's why we're pleased to have these members of congress join us. that's why we are especially pleased that you have joined us this afternoon. there's lots more to eat and drink. help yourselves. and make sure you leave your name and your e-mail and add the names and e-mails of those you think might also be interested in something like this. thank you very much. [ applause ]

the president of the united states. >> tuesday night, president donald trump gives his first state of the union address to congress and the nation. join us on c-span for a preview of the evening starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern. then the state of the union speech, live at 9:00 p.m. following this speech, the democratic response from congressman joe kennedy. we will also hear your reaction and comments from members of congress. president trump's state of the union address tuesday night, live on c-span. listen live on the free c-span radio app and available live or on demand on your desktop, phone

or tablet at c-span.org. >> in his state of the state address, alaska governor bill walker talked about efforts to boost alaska's revenue and employment by tapping into the state's natural resources. other topics included education, health care and climate change. from the state capital in ju juneau, this is 50 minutes. >> president kelly, speaker edgman, members of the legislate chush legislature, members of the cabinet and my fellow alaskans, good evening. thank you for this opportunity to address the second regular on