. reports last week that the rnc has been spending money on hotels, limousines, and private jets. reports this morning show that also democrats have been spending lavishly to get

political donors. we want to hear from you. are you making political donations? begin dialing in now. here are the numbers on your screen. and meanwhile, on this sunday morning, president obama and first lady michelle obama will attend easter services at a local church. tomorrow morning at the first family will host the annual easter egg role. end of then president obama will drop the first pitch of the national baseball game. the president has meetings at the white house this week before a bilateral meeting with president megadeath -- medvedev of russia. friday morning the president will also attend the bilateral meetings with the premise your of the czech republic .

still this morning, we're talking about political donations and want to hear from you. here is "the washington post" -- this headline. it says here that the republicans unified opposition to obama's agenda.

while the 13 republicans spent one-third less and still have $4.2 million on hand. we want to hear from all of you this morning. are you making political donations? if so, how much, and to whom? baltimore, the independent line. caller: thank you.

at this time in baltimore we only have democrats and republicans. i donate to the democratic party, and will continue with small donations, but i would like for you to consider my donations of my time which will be represented with martin o'malley for governor appeared. host: martin, have you increase or less and the amount you give? caller: i am saying because of the supreme court decision concerning monetary contribution -- but my volunteering will increase. host: all right, will vienna, va. caller: mostly to the local candidates and local party organization. host: do you mind telling us how much you give? caller: 200 bucks or so.

not every candidate, but those to whom my done a. host: and why are you giving? caller: we need a little sanity in congress and the state legislatures, and will find more with republicans than with those other guys. host: so are you giving to the rnc or other national committees? caller: not so much. host: and what are your thoughts on the stores last week as to how the rnc is raising and spending money? caller: it is embarrassing. host: what these things should happen? caller: probably closer scrutiny of expenses, for one thing. host: should michael still stay on as rnc chair? caller: probably so. he is a good guy. who else do we have?

host: the republicans in 2010? caller: i hope not. host: new york city, democratic line. caller: hi, yes. i will not be making any donations this year. why should i donate to any politicians when they don't listen? the 2008 bailout, 90% of the people said no. and they did. the medical law passed now to buy insurance with a gun -- and i cannot freely decide what i do want or not? no, i will be donating to anyone at all. host: california, on the independent line. are you there? caller: yes.

i really don't think c-span should care whether or not people make political donations. i think that c-span should cover the senate and house of representatives. host: what you think we should pay attention to it? caller: because c-span is about showing the american people how politics works. this is partisan bullshit. what you care whether not people -- host: all right, we will move on to john in eureka springs, arkansas. caller: good morning, i have been a lifelong third just -- third-generation democrat. we now have the energy cap and trade legislation before us. i am most disappointed in the democrats, as well as

republicans -- the four years i have been waiting for the cap a standards to improve on our gas mileage. in 2006 we passed legislation nfl legislation will not improve until late -- the cap a the decisions and they will not improve until late 2016. it is business as usual. i refuse to support or send contributions to any incumbent of any party. i want them all up. we still do not have banking regulations, my god. this stuff keeps stacking up. one last thing -- the address the election problem in 2000, 2004? no. they have gone on business as usual. i want a whole new slate of legislators brought in. we the people will just have to struggle and deal and improve our government as time's move on.

this two-party system is corrupt. host: john, are you supporting a t eap -- are you supporting the tea party candidates, or -- caller: i looked at it. they are little too extreme. i was worried that the republican party has tried real hard to bring them into their party. i'm glad they are independent, but there are a little too extreme, radical for me. i'm a little more moderate. but i am fed up. i'm 59 years old, and watched this back-and-forth potters in politics all my life. -- partisan politics all my life. host: there are reports that there are democratic people as part of the tea party movement.

are you one of those who voted for president obama and are now upset with his agenda? caller: yes, i am, and contributed to him. i was a teenager in the late 1960's. i was raised in california. the hope that obama offered really was inspirational to me, but i have seen him just embrace everything the democrats want, and health care -- he lost me with his opening statement. when we were not going to begin a new system, but a fixed the existing one. a translated to medical care for profit, not medical care for non-profit. this health-care legislation is just one more political fiasco of both parties. host: you and others might be interested in the outlook

section of the paper with don quail writing, " why dithe tea party should not go perot." it says here it would be welcome news and the white house. quail notes that many remember of the reform party of the 1990's. he says that he sure does because it eliminated any chance that bush and he would have

prevailed over bill clinton and gore in 1992. louisville, kentucky, the democrat line. are you making political donations? caller: at this moment, no. the reason why, i'm sort of like the gentleman you just speaking to. if it were up to me, the republicans and democrats, every one of them would just be thrown out. we would have other people in there. i do not believe any of them really know how to make a decision. it is like we have people, younger people -- there is no bipartisan --there never has

been even from the beginning when president obama became president. i believe there's a lot of racism going on with this when he came in. host: you said you will not make political donations yet. what would bring you back into the fold? caller: i do not know yet, i really do not. they have all disgusted me. i do not even like to hear them speak anymore. i don't care for mitch mcconnell. none of them agree on anything. i have never in my life ever seen anything like this. never. host: jenny, as you know, in kentucky there is a republican senate primary on may 18. one of the people running for,

in that race is the son of ron paul. he talks about why he is running in this piece. what do you think? caller: i have seen an advertisement of him, but i was going to go on to the internet to see if i could read some things about him. i do not know if he is involved in any tea parties? host: he says he believes that the activists should be credited with his success. he thinks that the movement will sweep a lot of incumbents from office. that goes with what you are saying wanting incumbents out. he calls himself a constitutional conservative, not necessarily a libertarian. he says in this piece that he

met with mitch mcconnell who is supporting his opponent in the primary. he said he talked to him and tried to get his endorsement, but has not been able to. what do you think of that whole thing? caller: so you're saying that he is running for senate? host: yes, in the republican primary on may 18. caller: mitch mcconnell is representing him? host: no, mitch mcconnell is supporting his opponent. trey grayson. caller: i would vote for the first when you name. i would not vote for anyone that mitch mcconnell would represent or try to help in any way. host: a little more from this article. the son says that he talks to his dad every week or two. he says he is the third of five children and has been interested

in politics since he was a little kid. the interviewer asks him as a libertarian did his father grant him lots of liberty in his childhood? he says that it is different between the government and a family. he says that a family can be a complete dictatorship. good morning, on the republican line. caller: i have followed them closely in the past few years. have donated before. i donated to members of the republican party i wanted in office. i think the needs of your campaign reform and the way we vote people in the. it should not be based on that -- that is probably radical and not realistic sense congress must pass legislation. i'm upset like most to have called in at the way they handle things. in general, they don't seem to

him the money very well, either side. i do not even want to donate to them. i hope that we can get people into office sunday in a different way. i know we have to spread the word on who the politicians are, but which we can do something. host: laura, do you support the tea party movement? caller: as long is it is a movement. host: this piece here with dan quail says that it should not try to become a third party. caller: i agree and think it would be a bad idea. i think we need to vote people in to do what they say they're going to. it is ok to have the different philosophies about the way that things work. that is where they really need to come together. that is where i agree with that

and think that works. but i think we should not let congress and the executive administration get so far out of hand. host: next call, pittsburgh. caller: good morning. the question you asked today in the newspaper articles that you cite emphasize something that has been apparent for 30 years. the government is for sale and there will be no reform, no improvement in the government and to we have public financing of campaigns. it will cost the public a lot less than what it costs them. the whole system is corrupt. i have given substantially to

obama on the premise that we would have reform and now we have a health care system built on a fundamentally flawed private insurance system. it is correct. the whole government is corrupt. the of the no answer until we have public financing through taxpayer taxes. it is ridiculous. host: on your point about how much campaigns cost, this is reported. since 2002 the average cost of gaining a house seat has risen 49% and now exceeds $1.3 million. philadelphia, joseph, on the republican line. caller: i'm not sending any money to any republican candidate. when bush was in power they ran up the dead. the greatest danger of thing for the country is the debt. there was an article yesterday

in barron's that between the public and private debt of the american people, the public of the government -- is at an all- time record high. we are going to bankrupt the country. five years from now we will pay over $1 trillion in debt -- that is just on interest on the debt to creditors. neither republicans, democrats, the tea party are really talking about anything. it is only wasteful spending, not corruption. when will c-span have a show that will be fair about the tax on the catholic church? the american military, three dozen people accused of sexual abuse -- no one brings that up. there are 40-year-old the accusations against the catholic church. it is just like with the tea party and they make out to change corruption. the corruption is just wasteful spending. but you have someone from the

tea party, to explain why george bush and republicans ran a debt, and now obama is even worse? explain to the american people what is the real problem. host: juan, the democratic line, fremont, california. caller: wow. first of all, the great, your the very best of all the mc's there. yes, i give to organizing for america, did e-mail's every once in awhile from the obama people. he is the only one i have seen in my lifetime, and i'm 60 years old, who has worked as hard as any president ever has to try to better things. i have health problems and not much money to give, but he is the only one trying to do anything about it. it is an imperfect plan, some call it flawed, but it least it is a plan. i don't know, i just hope this

coming year we will not have too much wasted money and political parties, but i'm afraid it will not be the case. we need to set up a war just because of the constants mayors by the republican party. host: out front and in the hot seat -- that is "the washington post" this morning. it is concerning this story promoting the gop. it says, and another measure of success, a the rnc is raising lots of money. it has collected $96 million

since steele was elected. but he has received a torrent of criticism from party insiders because of "the burn rate." it says that it has spent more than it has raised. charlotte, n.c., kevin on the independent line. are you making a political donation? caller: absolutely not, greta. i have in the past. i'm a 53-year-old male originally from the midwest. i agree with everything your caller from arkansas had to say

earlier. that guy has a nail. the only thing the two parties agree upon is that there should only be two parties. and that tells you everything you need to know. host: all right, hagerstown, md., on the republican line, ted. caller: good morning. i live in the maryland, but have been following the senatorial campaigns in other states and have been donating to those. only four people i think in the whole system are worth supporting right now. that is ron paul, his son, kirkesh and the one in mexico. i think they have our country's best interest in mind. if we really want to repair our federal government, we have to start paying attention across state lines and left -- and

elect the candidates that really represent the constitution. host: michele on the democratic line, good morning. what do you think? are you making political donations? caller: this will be the first time that i believe that i will make contributions. i am unemployed. it will be hard. but think that i will. i feel that finally, and i agree with the caller from california. we have someone in office who does care about the people. i think the political atmosphere is very complicated, and has a grilling countered a lot of things that were supposed to be done. the economic problems we have been having, but i think president obama is doing a great

job. he is working hard. he is the hardest working president i have seen since i have followed politics. i think that is because of all the complications we have. host: let me ask you something about the story concerning the rnc spending money on hotels, limousines, private jets. it is written this morning in the baltimore paper, gop democrats won a close race for the most lavish spending. he notes that using some data from the center for responsive politics, that also the dnc has been money on parties. the top recipient of spinning for if the committee was $290,000 by the avalon caterers. as an unemployed person, what do you think about your donation?

would you think about it going towards these lavish parties? caller: well, if i spent money would probably not even enough to pay for a fork or sppon. but i believe in the democratic agenda, believe in the democrats right now. i do not like what has taken place as far as the republican party with their "just save no" to everything. -- just say no to everything else so i have to feel like where i want to go to -- to just be listened to. many people want to be listened to. but what they want -- i'm not being listened to. there has to be spending. it will always be like that. i don't think anyone would put into office with change that. it is one of those host: things all right, we're hearing from

democrats and independents. we want to hear from republicans as well. host: on "newsmakers" this morning. governor mitch daniels, republican of indiana, cubs about unemployment and the latest figures. >> i would be very cautious about seen anything else. i do not yet seated on the ground. i talk to businesses all the time intend to put more stock in what they say been in the statistics. here and there i do fine firms who say their orders are little stronger and see improvement. they are all very cautious. very few are hiring.

if they are it tends to be temporary or part-time workers. i think we will need to see more evidence before we can conclude that anything like the recovery we need is under way. host: 10 to "newsmakers" this sunday following today's "washington journal." are you making political donations? caller: none for me. i'm extremely concerned about the american enterprise institute and their control over our government. we need to put them in to check. host: all right, new york, on the republican line. caller: good morning. i am not making donations. the main reason is the republican party has to get rid of people like olympia snowe, arlen specter who finally got into the right party where he belongs. anybody who suprt