>> coming next, it is "q&a" with michelle easton. after that, prime minister's questions with gordon brown at the house of commons. . >> who is her family?

>> i spoke with her stepson. he is the son of the famous henry luce. i did it because a corporate attorney said that you do not have to ask the family for permission but it is a good idea. i went up and met with him. he was in the foundation office in manhattan. he was a nice fellow. he heard me out. he said that he did not agree with what i was doing and. >> why did he not agree with what you were doing? >> he is something of a rhino. he is a republican in name only. he did not really get the notion that women's groups do not represent most women in america. they certainly do not represent the kind of women that we've

worked with. he had enough of a sense of what his mother would have wanted. he said we could use her name. >> who was she? what she was a remarkable woman who was way -- i >> she was a remarkable woman who was way ahead of her time. she was a congresswoman. she was a writer. she was the editor of "vanity fair." she was a devoted mother, a devoted wife. she had deep faith. when it came time to form this organization and find someone to name it after, it was really no contest. there was no other woman in modern times that had an incredible professional and family life and who was truly a role model that modern young women could look to for

inspiration. >> here is some video. >> ok. >> this goes back between 1951 and 1955. people that are my age remember this. let's show what she looked like and sounded like. >> a lot of women are looking at you. is there a career in diplomacy for most women? >> i think that there is a career in diplomacy. it is for all able to people who want to try -- able people who want to try to become diplomats. -- abled people who want to try to become diplomats. it is not whether they are men or women. >> you do not feel that way. you think that they can negotiate with the european

politicians as well as a man? >> you want to know if women can negotiate and maneuver? >> yes. >> that is absurd. >> she was the first woman ever named to to a major post. president eisenhower named her ambassador to italy. she did a fabulous job. the first thing she had to do as an ambassador was to hire a wife because the ambassador's life is a critical part. >> she went on to work for john kennedy. >> yes, she did. she did both sides. i do not keep in touch with her. >> did you ever meet her? >> yes, i did come at a

conservative function in the 1980's. -- i did, at a conservative budget in the 1980's. i met her daughter as well. i learned a lot from her granddaughter. after she passed away, player would have young people travel with her. -- her granddaughter would have young people travel with her. she shared so many great stories about her grandmother. >> you worked with ronald reagan and president bush. in 1993, that was the first year of the bill clinton's presidency . what did you want to accomplish? >> i had been in washington for almost 20 years. what do you do after working for

president reagan and president bush? i finished law school in 1980. you could go and work for another organization, but as i looked around the conservative movement, it seems to me that there were two areas that i care the most about. there were a lot of groups working on issues. it seemed to me that there is a need to work with women. we figured out long ago how important women are to advance the movement. as conservatives, not that we did not have women leaders, but promoting them and acknowledging them and celebrating them, and focusing on the next generation of women leaders, that is what we decided was needed. we started the organization and

there were so many organizations. the first thing that i did was to write a letter and i poured my heart out and i put some pictures of me with important people. a very dear friend of mine, -- a very dear friend of mine husband -- of my husband helped us raise money. to donations were $5,000 gifts. -- two donations were $5,000 gets. people wanted an organization that would promote women leaders and work with the next generation of women conservative leaders to give them the confidence and courage that they need it. >> there is a name on your board that connects with a name on your husband's board, frank

donna kelley -- frank donna kellatelli. >> frank has been a dear, close friend. he is very well qualified for this position. he loves being on the board with a lot of women leaders. he does a great job. he knows the mechanics of nonprofit governments, which in this day and age, is a wonderful person to have on our board. he is my oldest friend here in washington dc. >> go back to the beginning. i noticed that you met your husband at young americans for

freedom. where did you meet? >> he was going to grad school and i was in my last year of college and we were both members of young americans for freedom. there are still some members, but it is not the national organization that it once was. it was 1972, and young conservatives had had it with nixon. we had an organization named used against the government -- used against the government -- youth against the governed. i learned that he had no money. he came across some extra money

around christmas time and took me out. we just clicked. 36 years later, we are doing well. >>frank wasn't lost or -- was in law school. when ron and i married, i left, because ron had just gotten the top job and it does not work well to work for my husband. >> where did you get your strong, conservative views? >> my family was conservative and my father was hard-working. he always complained about the taxes. he had four children. government was way too big in the 1950's and 1960's. i heard it all those years and i just hope it end.

i just soaked in. -- soaked ii in. that was my introduction as an activist and high school. my senior year, i was voted class politician because i was willing to speak about political things. >> where was this? >> port chester high school. it is a suburb of new york city. you could get a good education, but it was right before so much of the disintegration of public schools. there were a lot of traditions. most of the parents shared similar values and the school was responsive to the parents. a lot of that has changed.

i am an advocate of school choice. but back in the 1950's and 1960's, i went through those schools and i was well educated. we had a new york regency exam. -- a new york region's exam. -- a new york regients exam. it meant that you really do your english. -- willie new york english. -- you really knew what your english. -- your english. i got a good education in government schools. >> what made you mad about liberals? >> i am thinking of president obama and the health care summit that they just had. he sat up there, and everything

on his face and body language said to me that he thought he was smarter than most of you people. he acted like he really knew what was best for the american people. to me, perhaps it is the arrogance that they think they really know what is best for us. they elected this fellow. they wanted to give him a chance. they wanted to prove that anybody could become president. that has certainly turned around. >> i want to reduce something that you said -- i want to read you something that you said. you said that katie couric was a master sneerer.

she has never done a peer interview with a conservative woman, never. >> she never has done a fair interview with a conservative woman. she has come from a different area of policy. she sneers at ann coulter and at sarah palin. i do not know if she knows that she smears, but she does. -- that she sneers, but she does. they edit a lot. >> doesn't ann coulter smear everybody? -- sneer at everybody? >> she has a sense of humor that some do not get.

>> you said that her eyes and condescension toward a woman whose achievements, personal and professional, are so superior to her home were excruciating to watch. but you wanted to say that palin should stop wasting time on mainline media interviews. but i think that she has gone mainland and she seems -- >> i think that she has gone main line. she would have been better off. i think that they were gunning for her. they were brutally personal. i think that her time spent with katie couric was not time well

spent. >> do you track interviews with conservative women? >> i don't know. there are so many have jobs but people in the media. i do not talk to people that i do not think can be fair. >> do you feel better today about what media is doing then you did when you got in the business in the 1970's? >> what is different is that we have more outlets. i think it is worse in some cases. it is incredibly biased. you pick up the washington post every morning and you realize why nobody is reading this. now, we have more talk radio. we have a major cable network.

we have the internet. kids do not even read the newspaper. they go to the internet. they get their news from the internet. we have all of this alternative media which is one reason that the left is trying to shut some of that down. >> we have some before and after video. here are your sons in 1997 on c- span. can you remember how old they were? >> i would say maybe nine, 12 and 14. archy was the oldest. danny was in middle school and taught it was an elementary school. it was take your daughters to work day. it is now take your sons and daughters to work.

boys need encouragement as much as girls. we would have a press conference and i would bring my three sons and we would have all lot of fun with it. c-span asked us to come on. tommy, who was so little, he did the best. he was young enough not to be nervous. >> what about following your mom around? >> hi am learning about her work and more about conservatives. >> have you made up your mind on any of those big questions? >> yes. yes, like i am not want to have an abortion. >> do you think of yourself as a conservative? yes.

-- >> yes. >> what is your name robinson and yours is easton. >> when we were going to marry, i had worked in washington real hard and had established a personal presence and we did not want to change my name. i felt very strongly. my husband said that it was okay with him. the second most important man in my life was my dad. he was very traditional. i had to tell him. there was this long pause. he said that that was great. he said that he wanted more sons to carry the name on. i cleared it with the two guys

that i care most about in life. back then, in 1974, i took a lot of criticism from fellow conservatives that could not understand it. i never really felt that i had to explain it in great detail. it was something that ron and i were good with. that was not a major factor. >> here is a picture of your family. >> my boys have grown up. my husband is in the glasses. i am the short one. >> what are those three boys doing? >> vet are all working. they are all bright -- they are all working. they are all right. -- bright. we are truly blessed to have them. >> are they all conservative? >> yes.

one of them strayed one time on a vote and we never let him forget. >> this is more video of you thanking contributors. let's watch that and get your take on it. >> i am a shell eastern, president of the luce policy institute. your support allows us to promote conservative leaders and use their success to it -- to inspire the next generation of ladies. a gift to the institute in any amount is a gift of hope. by giving $100, you share your principles with students. by giving $1,000, but you helped send speakers to campuses across the nation. by giving $10,000, you send a young woman to washington d.c. for an internship. thank you for helping our young women stand strong.

god bless you for your friendship and your generosity. >> what did the institute do? >> we have more than 20,000 supporters that support our work to promote and celebrate conservative leaders and use them to train the next generation of women leaders. our budget is a little over $2 million right now. much of it comes in very small gifts. we have 300 and give more than 1000 a year. most give smaller amounts. >> who is your biggest contributor. >> i do not like to give their names for the most part. we have some wonderful people in chicago and connecticut who get $100,000 a year. i do not feel free to give their names, but they are people that

could go out and do what we do if they could. they cannot do it. they have businesses and other things. they give us gifts. we go out and do the kind of things that they would do. that is what giving to the institute is about. people that have a hard for what we are doing. >> i noticed that there is a western women's summit in santa barbara. ron robinson has something to do with it. >> ron robinson and his west coast office will let many conservative groups use that for conferences. it is a beautiful setting. about three years ago, we wanted to expand our activity on the west coast and so we started having the summit.

this is one conference that is a mix of students and women. we noticed that the women wanted to come. they were hungry for opportunity to network. so, to the extent that we can, we open them up. >> what is a young -- what does the young american foundation do? >> they promote the ideas of ronald reagan. they are happy to come learn about conservative ideas. it was up for sale. nancy reagan was very grateful that a conservative group wanted to preserve that. the fellow that was going to buy it was going to teardown the

house. clinton was president. he did not want to save it. ron robinson and the young americans foundation stepped up. they are groups that promote conservative ideas. we do this through women. we are not a women's group. we are a conservative group. >> give me some other conservative prime troubles -- conservative principles of your group. >> we believe that when a man or a woman earns money at their job, they should decide how most of it is spent. how many days of a five day week should you have to work to pay the government? our taxation rates are too high. people should decide how to spend their own money.

taxation is certainly an incredibly important issue. allowing businesses to prosper. the government is huge and overbearing. big businesses make their peace with it and give their contribution. what americans prosper. did these regulators out of the way. -- let americans prosper. get these regulators out of the way. i am fine with having people checked things off. all of the states are forcing us to write checks and to file as a nonprofit. environmental regulations, all kinds of regulations to depress the natural growth the businesses would have.

>> let me ask you about religion. you hear the left and right say "god bless america." how important is -- can you be an atheist and be a conservative? >> it is interesting because there is a book called "losing our religion." she says she is not a believer, but i have never seen this point of view. most conservatives consider fake an essential part of their policy. their belief in freedom comes from our creator. most conservatives are religious and do believe, but some do not. >> what are some of the things that bug you about liberals or

that you feel strongly about in conservative values. -- conservative values? >> i am very big on life. we are a boarding over 1 million babies a year. -- a boarding over $1 million -- 1 million babies -- aborting 1 million babies a year. >people will look at production abortionists like they'd look at former slave owners -- will look at pro-abortionists like they look at former slave owners. you know what i understood -- when i understood it? when i got pregnant. i did not feel a passion about it until i got pregnant with my

first baby. how could you dispose of this child? some people are slow learners. one of the things that we do is to be understanding of people who do not quite get it and try to move them along on that. there are some that have had abortions. you cannot convince somebody that has had an abortion because they can change their way of life. they have so much regret that they had an abortion. that is a huge issue in our country today. that is not to say that everybody has to be 100% to be accepted, but it is an issue. >> where is your is it located? >> we are in virginia which is

-- by miles -- 5 miles from dulles airport. we have tens of thousands of volunteers all over the country. our paid staff is about 1 dozen. >> what do you think about the education of people are getting in college? >> my third son, tommy, want to hillsdale college in michigan. if i had to do it over, by the time they got to be juniors in high school, i would tell them that they have two choices. they can go to work or they can go to hills bill. -- hillsdale. in order to get a grade on a paper, they would have to write a socialist or feminist point of view to detonate.

>> where did they go? two different schools. >> those are both catholic. >> yes, they are. they were reading poetry. this is a jesuit school and discussed the pope's pianenis. he asked his professor if this was appropriate. i think it was very courageous for him to do that. he went to the chapel and met with the priest and asked if they could do something about that. it is beyond belief, the kind of disrespect shown to religious figures and to traditional

mothers that choose to stay home and there are eight you choose to stay home. there are a few universities like phil's bell. -- like hillsdale. >> welcome to the boos policy institute. -- the boots policy institute -- the booth policy institute. the institute touches the lives of young ladies when they attend our seminars and conferences. when they take a semester and intern with us. they tell us that their lives

have changed forever. they have the depth of knowledge in many more issues. we are proud of the work that we do here. >> it is about time that we bring forth new thought and some real ideals, not just for the campus, but for society as a whole. >> they somehow consistently overlooked history making achievements of leaders like u.s. ambassador jeane kirkpatrick or margaret thatcher. >> we help college students bring a balance of perspective to their college campus. many students never hear a conservative position articulated. we work with those students to help bring that to their college campus. >> women try to get involved in

politics and they do not know what to expect. they can't get a lot of offensive language of the internet and it is important for them to reach out. >> who are you aiming at with that? >> it is on our website to let people know what we do. god bless those wonderful supporters all over the country that sends us a better if the dollar check -- there $50 check. --their the dollar check. i met up with one of our interns recently. she went to the university of center sysco and she said that was because she got a full scholarship. i asked her what she got out of her summer with us. she looked at me and said that it made her brave. and not just one time, but a thousand different times. she said that she went back to

school and she would stand up and speak up to the professor and france -- and friends. she surrounded herself with strong, republican women. it took confidence and it gave them courage. you don't understand how different it is now. it is a house -- is a hostile environment. there are these women's studies departments that eight men. -- that eight men. -- that eight men -- hate men. it is a hostile environment.

they bring them in as internes and bring them into our events. >> from your web site, "with shock value as its main tactic, the production has effectively capture the attention of college students around the country. and with the purported message of ending violence against women, others are quietly left wondering how embracing bow purity is for to make the world safer place for a woman. >> they have taken one day of the year when men and women usually get along, and they talk about an intimate part of a woman's anatomy. it is a play on hundreds of

campuses around the country. there is not one man in the play that is not a rapist, an abuser, just a horrible person or down and out brittle. -brown -- down and out brittlut. this is supposed to the tower with a to talk about their private parts in the most vulgar and graphic ways. there was one campus that had a 40 foot high blow up plastic vagina. you're supposed to sit then go out and be a properly? >> what is the motive? >> it is the edge of the radical feminists who really despise men. when you go to now, most of it

is about abortion. it is as if it is some kind of a mainstream. it started out with the suffragettes and it was more for the quality -- for equality. we have a policy on our website about this. they say they are for suffragettes and for equality, but families are important, also. we saw a little bit on the tape that women can do just about anything. the fact that they don't want to do things does not mean there is discrimination. the opportunities are there, but

they are seeking absolute equality and the vagina monologues -- how this is empower women -- how does this in power when? -- in power -- how does this empower women? >> back in the 1930's, there was a movie called "the women." here is an excerpt. >> i have had two years to grow klaas, mother. -- and grow claws, mother. >> it was not easy to put you over.

>> keep your by don or alimony. -- keep your mind on your alimony. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> did you watch that movie? >> many times. it does not have the same impact now. she got the idea from the play. she was in a ladies' room and the women were gossiping outside. she got the idea about all women that was all about men. the core of this movie is divorce and a scandal of divorce. it is not a scandal anymore. there are so many divorces. we do not encourage divorces. it was so different bend when this was done 60 years ago. >> let's watch the trailer for the 2008 version. >> what if i could tell us a

romantic dinner tonight? >> she's in the dressing room across all. >> i am giving you permission to be a badly. go in there and to curb ass. -- and kick her ass. >> i am so sorry that i will be able to stay longer, but the water just broke. -- my water just broke. >> i know that they must have tried hard, but it just did not have the original team and

lessons. people are drawn to this movie because -- original theme and lessons. people are drawn to this movie because they understood personal dynamics. that is why the play is still being done in community theaters. she was -- it was adam -- it was a remarkable insight into women. the play was a remarkable play. >> how do you know what the other side thinks? >> i get on the mailing list and i get on their web sites and i watch abc, nbc and cbs. the liberal left wing feminist women are everywhere in the popular culture and mass media.

it is the conservative women that you have to search out. it is not hard to be a liberal. you can almost be a liberal just by sitting still because it is all about us. >> how have you been treated? do you have examples of how you were treated badly? >> primarily, i promote the other women. i do not do that much tv, except for our events. we promote the great speakers that we have. we get them out as much as we can carry it -- as we can. there is a bias against conservative women di. she went in for her senior thesis and said she wanted to write about conservative women. we were told there are no conservative women leaders.

there was this prevailing view that you cannot be a successful woman and the conservative. that is all over colleges and universities all over this country. >> let me go back to a recent example. he said that she thought and then wrote it. >> the lesson is that you can stand up. it is easier to cave in. you can choose to stand up and fight the fight. you have to pick your battles. in this case, she thought she might win and she felt so empowered by doing it. she went on to go to law school a. when i was a senior in college, i put on a lecture at my school. it was not tremendously well

attended, but it was tremendously in powering. we had monica crowley last week. we had the woman of the year award and we gave it to her. we will have her speech up on our website. 10 letter changed her life. -- one letter changed her life. it gives you a sense of empowerment. that is what we encourage. not everyone stands at the podium and gives a speech. there are things that every woman can do to promote conservative ideas. >> you wrote this on your web site. i will read it. for a total of seven years, straddling the 1980's and 1990's, i was an edfed, starting

with president reagan at the federal department of education in 1981. even the washington post, by no means a reagan ally, acknowledged in a 1994 editorial that there's a lot of -- a >> ronald reagan had it right. he said that the closest thing to eternal life on earth is a federal agency. this has probably grown by 50% under 50% -- grown by 50%.

some would argue that it is local government and that folks in washington -- they do not have a clue about what people need. the money comes in to the federal government and it goes through many bureaucrats that do not have a clue. that is crazy. that is a crazy way to run our schools. >> 71 million -- george bush increased it the most. he was a conservative or wasn't he? >> not on that, he wasn't. >> why do so many want to shut down the education department?

i would say that most of bush's department were conservatives -- were not conservatives. a president can only do so many things. president reagan's main thing was to defeat the soviet union. it was not something that bush worked well on and he was wrong on that. he meant well, but we do not want the government telling schools what they should do. of course they should do better with reading. it was a disappointment. his spending and his failure to make any changes in the education was a disappointment to many people. >> on the website of the

department of education, i want to read a couple of things. provide 1.5 billion to expand race to the top four school districts as well as states to carry a systemic reform and $500 million to continue the investing in innovation program to test, validate and scales up effective approaches to student learning. but it is not the federal government's job to do that in schools. they do this because they have a federal grant. they cannot possibly know what is good for children in all these individual schools all over the country. a lot of the money goes to pay salaries state department of education workers. obama has done face -- a tremendous amount of that.

instead of forcing the states to cut back on every business like every family has had to do during this recession. it has gotten worse under obama. nobody was getting laid off. a lot of that money from the department goes for salaries of people who run the federal program and the people in the local schools would rather really not have them. they would rather spend their own money doing other things. >> what the back to what we were talking about in the beginning. -- let's go back to what we were talking about in the beginning. this is not -- this is one to sound like it is negative. -- is going to sound like it is negative. he is a lobbyist. he straddles all these different groups.

we see it on the left and on the right. is there anything wrong with this? >> he is not making any money off of us. right now, he is an attorney. frank is a good conservative and he is on my board because he is an old friend who is loyal and will always tell the truth. >> take his name out of it. he is on your board and on your husband's board. but people outside of this town look at it and say there is too much of this going on. >> reagan named frank as his political director in the white house. the lobbying question is an interesting one. when the government control so much of what goes on in washington, people are going to have lobbyists. the answer is to cut the

government. cut the programs. let people keep their own money. the government grows and grows and we let it happen. the problem is the size of government, not the lobbyists. >> how do you know you were -- how to use make a contributor happy so they will come back and next year? >> we use stories of students that we have spent time with and how their lives have changed and how they made an impact on their campus. i think that we can say that campuses have become more conservative on issues like life. i think that we are having great success. i think we are having great success with women. looked at our great american conservative women.

they are being celebrated, now. when you look on television and on talk radio, there are more conservative women leaders out there than there used to be. they are acknowledged. we talk about our successes and then we say that we have a long way to go, especially when it comes to college campuses and the bias against young women. >> wanted to -- what did you pick briarcliff -- why did she pick briarcliff -- you did briarcliff -- you pick briarcliff? >> they had these big federal grants and build some new dormitories and buildings -- build some new dormitories and buildings. -- built seven new dormitories and buildings. it what -- some new dormitories

and buildings. to me, i remember watching them burning their underclothes and college. that was a symbol of their empowerment. i would think that there were a silly bunch of people. i probably would have gone to some colette school, but my dad thought this was a good environment for me. he was right. >> did you get a masters? what i got a b.a. -- >> i got a b.a. and then i went to law school. i graduated in 1980 and there was one conservative professor in my four years. all of the legal policies are taught from the left side.

>> let me ask you this. you have never changed your views about being a conservative? >> no, i believe i have become stronger. >> but in front of all the left- wing media, in spite of going to american university, you are still a conservative. what makes you think that the rest of the people cannot hang in there and keep their own views? >> i think that when i was younger, i had special encouragement. i had people that really cared about me and encouraged me to be outspoken, to speak out. what young people need is encouragement. ever since i met my husband, he has always been my biggest fan. on our first day, -- first

date, we would to dinner -- we would to dinner. -- we went to dinner. he pushed me to do what i could do. i had some of that with my husband. i had a couple of other people that helped me when i was younger. people need encouragement. all the dynamics are easy to do. >> how long are you going to do this? what i am 60 this year, but i feel good -- like what i am 60 this year, but i feel good. -- >> i in 60 this year, but i feel good. there have been tough times. these are good times. obama and his socialistic ideas

, deciding salaries, this is a life lesson in congress for conservatives. i want to do this as long as i can. when the time comes, there will be wonderful replacements for me. >> michelle easton, we are out of time, and we thank you very much. >> thank you. >> for a dvd copy of this program, call 1-877-662-7726. for free transcripts or to give us your comments about this program, visit us at q&a.org. "q&a" is also available as a c- span podcast.

>> coming up next, prime minister gordon brown and the british house of commons. following that, a speech by prime minister brown on the global economy. and then, another chance to save "q&a" with michelle easton. >> tomorrow, on washington journal, a political roundtable with kathy kiely and richard cohen. joseph henchman discusses the recent trend in states to raise taxes. and john powell talking about a