have to read this desk. -- this dust. with respect to ventilation, every operator in the united states that has a coal mine or wants to open one has to submit a plan. .

>> will also hear from the new british prime minister, david cameron. then, the new chancellor of the exchequer, george osborn, gives his first major speech on thee british economy. the chancellor talks about cutting public spending and reducing the corporate tax rate. that is tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span. >> rep chris van hollen, democrat of maryland and the man in charge of getting democrats elected this fall is our newsmaker. joining us are to reporters. >> congressman, let's talk about what happened -- some very interesting primaries and one general election last tuesday

and what lessons you take from that, good and bad shape your thinking about the general election in november. >> we have a lot primaries and each primary hadn't owned need set of one thing that was unique on the power of the tea party movement, with rand paul run and -- rand paul one and charlie crist itv republican party in florida. it is driving the eventual republican nominee for their and further to the right. in areas other mainstream and centrist, is going to present a challenge for republicans. the election that was on the ballot last tuesday, where you had a republican matched up against a democrat, it was a special alexian in pennsylvania. the republicans did a test drive of their november strategy and

it did crash. what happened was, republicans tried to make president obama and the speaker of the house and to a bogyman. the democratic candidate focused on economic issues, jobs, and focused on what people are thinking in caring about in their daily lives. at the end of the day, people said they want somebody to move forward on the positive job agenda. >> the democrat who won, the seat that john murtha held for many years, and a district john mccain carried over barack obama, a very interesting district. but he did run against some of the things your account -- or incumbents will not be able to run against like the health care bill. he said he opposed that. some of the economic things like the bank bailout. doesn't that give you some concerns about your agenda and message? >> he ran as an independent- minded democrats. there are some issues where he

agrees with the president and some where he will disagree. that is true of all of our incumbent members as well. when it comes to the health care bill, he was very much against repeal buried his republican opponent said let's really get it and start from scratch. the democrats of let's work with the bill that we had and improve as we move along. although the republicans tried to make a big deal of it, it fell flat. in terms of some of the other issues, he reflected the district as jack murtha had. he described himself as a pro- life, pro-gun democrats. he took the same position. he focused on the economy and jobs and the republican candidate had nothing to offer except the same kind of economic agenda that got us into this mess to begin with. i think that is what we're going to find in these collections. when voters say to the republican candidate, what are you going to do about the

economy? all have to offer is the same old economic policies that created the mess to begin with. nothing more. they have been standing on the sidelines for 18 months while we have been working hard to get the economy out of the ditch. people do not want to go back to the policies that created that mess to begin with. one thing that did seem to come clear in tuesday night in democratic primaries in pennsylvania -- you had joe sestak, a challenger to our inspector, and 80-year-old, 30- year incumbent. people seem to go with a new generation of leadership message that joe sestak was promoting. there are obviously circumstances with arlen specter like the party switch, but you have a half-dozen or more older incumbents, people like ike skelton, are you worried that even democratic voters seem to

that but on to a new generation of leadership message and those guys will now in this environment look even more vulnerable? >> no, because i interpret the senate race differently. i think the fact that our inspectors which parties was a major issue in this race. this was not an ordinary incumbent senator. he was an incumbent senator who had been a republican. the democratic primary voters to come out to vote are the same voters who have been voting against arlen specter remorse -- arlen specter, so they're reminded him of arlen specter and president bush. that made it difficult for arlen specter to say he was the guy who was changing things. but with respect to some of the chairman and members of the democratic side who are veteran members, they have been through tough elections before. many of these members went

through the 1994 republican wave and they are the ones that came out on top. i do not see this as another 1994 at all. we obviously face a very difficult political environment. that is very clear. but is it going to be the kind of way we saw in 1994? i do not think so. one major difference today is that in every public servant, people cannot see the republican party as a credible alternative to democrats. we're not where we would like to be in the public standing and we understand that, but republicans are all lower because people have seen the consequences and costs of their policies, especially their economic policies. why would you give the keys of the car back to the guys who drove it into the ditch to begin with? that's what the republicans are asking voters to do and i don't think voters are willing to go there. >> you currently have a 38-seat

majority. after another couple of special elections, it will be 37 or so. are there a number of seats you can't afford to lose and still govern effectively in 2011? at what point to the margins become so narrow that it becomes impossible to govern? >> that is a good question. we are many months out now and we're not talking about any particular numbers in this election in terms of where we will end up. clearly, healthy majority in the house has helped us pass things like wall street reform, health care reform, fiscal responsibility and pay go legislation. we have not gotten any help from the republicans on any of those issues, not a single republican in the house voted for wall street reform, even though the republican leadership was all there to bail out the banks.

but having done that, there were not there when i came to recovery for mainstream. then, they voted against wall street reform to prevent taxpayers from having to foot the bill -- from having to foot the bill again. a healthier majority helps us pass things like wall street reform and making sure banks do not suck up a lot of money that was supposed to get these to loans and those kinds of things. that is why we're going to be clear with voters -- here is where the republicans were. they voted no on wall street reform, they voted no on this account ability and pay go. they voted know when i came to student loans and taking power away from the banks and they won big health insurance companies health care. those are issues that will resonate and we need to remind people that is how republicans would lead if they were in charge. >> what role do you see

president obama playing in these elections and what role should he play? should he go into district after district to campaign openly for your candidates or is he going to be in the background and help raise money but not be so out front in a lot of these tough races? >> i think he's going to be front and center in delivering the message about why it is so important to have a strong majority in the house of representatives. he will point out as he did the other night in new york that it would be a big mistake to turn back the clock and adopt the economic policies that got us into this mess. what are the republicans offering when it comes to the economy? they want to do another big tax cut for the wealthiest americanss president obama and lay -- president obama and democrats did note tax relief. they say they want it for the very top again. when it comes to cutting down on the of shoring of american jobs, the president wants to

close those loopholes. he is going to be the spokesman. the president will take his lead from members of the house and members of the senate as to where he can be most affected campaigning for them. there are obviously some places where the president is strong and some places where he is less strong, but he is a great national spokesman. he is best at making clear what the stakes are in this election, the importance of moving forward and the cost and consequences of going back to the same economic agenda that got us into this mess. >> will republicans be making a mistake of the couch this election as a referendum on the president and his agenda? if they run against barack obama, how successful will that be or how much trouble that caught your candidates question mark >> i think it would be a big mistake for republicans. if they want to do that, go ahead. but they did track -- did test

that strategy in pennsylvania. four out of the five a boogeyman that of president obama and the speaker of the house and the president said we're not going to be distracted by that kind of tactic. we want a candid and congressman who will focus on the issues we care about. we of choice. votersthe choice all face -- to candidates, two competing views of the future and the main difference is going to be that the republicans prescription for the future are the same policies they had in the past that created this mess. i cannot think people will want to turn back the clock. >> your republican counterpart has said he would like to go after some of these longtime democratic chairman. what kinds of conversations are you having with your chairman about how you run against this anti-establishment mood that is out there? >> these are people who are

battle tested. they went through a very rocky elections of 1994 and came out on top. they're battle-tested from the campaign perspective. we have been working closely with them. they're not taking anything for granted in these elections. they saw the tremors coming and have been preparing, but each of them will be running against a republican opponent and it will be a contest between two different ways forward. with the chairman, you also find independence-minded democrats like ike skelton from missouri. on some issues, he votes with the president and some issues he does not. at the end of the day, voters want someone who will be looking at the facts and deciding what is best for their particular community. that is what these chairman have done and they realize what they are up against.

they are ready and confident that when you compare what they stand for with what the republicans stand for, they will come out on top because one of the other issues surfacing in these campaigns have also surfaced in the -- surfaced in the pennsylvania election, the campaign to turn medicare into a voucher program until the senior that you are on your own and go fight with the insurance industry and partially privatize social security. those are issues coming up in races like these and people don't want the government to take away some of that economic security those programs provide. >> in pennsylvania, all this are people i talk to the day before and the day of that race, they basically thought it was a coin toss. you ended up winning by seven or

eight. . how much of a campaign is decided -- seven or eight points. how much of a campaign is decided in the campaign committees that you guys do, not just advertisements, but getting out the vote and those things? is it -- explain that to the viewers. >> is a very good question. what's the impact of a good campaign? i believe a campaign to make a very different. the campaigns i have seen over the years that have grass-roots enthusiasm and a great field operation that mobilize volunteers do much better than those that do not. that makes it clear that they're connecting with voters. one of the things with the special alexian in pennsylvania was not only was are can't get stronger in terms of his message, but he had a great ground operation, knocking on doors, phoning voters, and in my

view, it's very important and especially important in a midterm election. an off-presidential year election because you don't have the excitement and dizzy as an of it president of race to bring out the voters. so it is especially important in that scenario. >> what do you make of the breathlessness out there in the electorate and? the two-party -- you can argue that it was just 18 months ago that barack obama got elected by a fairly easy margin with an agenda and democrats retook the house and senate in last two elections and yet, here we are a short time later, with what looks like a lot of anti- incumbency sentiment. did the democrats overplay their hands or are we dealing with a population that just is never

satisfied when the republicans are in, and what democrats and vice versa? >> i think all of the tea party movement is a reflection of the tough economic times we have been through. different views are the best way through these economic times. the steps that have been taken are improving the economy. jobs are coming back and it would be a mistake to go back that created the best to go -- to begin with. but with the the party, your finding it double-edged sword. the republicans hope to capitalize on the political energy of the tea party movement which is clearly there. on the other hand, the tea party movement is driving can't it's farther and farther to the right where you get rand paul, for example. in kentucky, the other day, a member of congress was expecting the washington republican

candidate would win and t party candidate won instead. it does create a dilemma in some ways for republicans. they would love to exploit that energy, but they also want to keep some distance. from the two-party perspective, they are very suspicious of washington republicans because washington republicans would love to use them, but then not adopt many of their policies. the wall street reform bill is a case in point. i would bet a lot of money that if you were to ask most of the tea party movement whether they want to rein in the power of wall street and make sure taxpayers are never left holding the bag again, they would say let's rated in. yet not a single republican in the house voted for wall street reform and in the senate, only four republicans voted for it. that's not something the t party movement is going to take kindly

i don't think because it clearly shows mitch mcconnell and the houseeleader, when they met with bankers and said they're going to try to slow down the effort, they did. they tried to slow it down. we have overcome that, at least so far, but that's not something that is going to bring a smile to the tea party movement's base, the idea of the republican leadership huddling with big wall street bankers and lobbyists. >> wouldn't you democrats like to have some of the passion and energy see among t party ad -- the party activists? -- the tea party activists? but aren't the republicans also in danger of having the reverse problem and maybe quite a number of voters who were excited about barack obama and turned out in to decimate, perhaps not turning out this year but when he is not on the ballot? >> there is a danger of that.

that is a big challenge between now and election day. the passage of the health care bill, a big issue president obama campaigned on, has restored a lot of face to democratic activists voters in our ability to get big things done for the country, things we worked on for a long time and cannot lagers wheat under the rug. second, republicans have been talking about taking back the majority. they have been measuring the curtains and popping champagne bottles. that has led more and over -- more and more voters to begin focusing on the consequences of them taking back the house. it is very easy when you are in the opposition party to be negative about everything. but i think the voters are going to ask these candidates what to do you stand for other than voting no on everything and wanted to bring back the bush economic policies. what is your proposal?

they don't have anything new. they just have a rerun of the old stuff. as people focus on that choice as we get closer to november, they're not going to want to hand congress back over to republicans. that is why the polls show that today, unlike 1994, people do not see the republicans as a credible alternative. they have not put anything on the table. they have just been playing a game of cynical politics in washington. when they do have an >> -- when they do have an idea, it is an old one. >> when you see rand paul, d.c. trying to compare other republicans to indirectly? >> i think every race is different. the question is whether or not republican candidates subscribe to that same particular views as rand paul.

if they embrace him and his agenda, and we're finding out more and more about his agenda and what he stands for, if they embrace that, that could become an issue in a particular race. if they distance him -- the distance themselves from him, that's different thing. he is a reflection of the great uncertainty that surrounds a lot of the tea party candidates. the tea party movement is a diverse movement. it is not a hamas genius movement. -- as of what genius movement. it is not a homogenous movement. they do not represent the middle of american politics and they're driving republican politics further and further right. people are signing statements and pledges that lock themselves and to positions which are of the mainstream of all of these issues. privatizing medicare is not something seniors want to see. putting all of your retirement

savings from social security into the stock market is not a good move. so that is the kind of thing i think people will begin to focus on as we get closer to election day. >> what do centrists' voters who are not part of either that the party or move on, there's an ultimate swing district -- the last 32 years, 16 orders and by republican, 16 by democrat. what are those voters looking for? they are going to decide this election. >> i think they are looking for a candidate who reflect their values and priorities. whether your candid -- whether you are candid or an incumbent, they know your first priority is to vote for your community, not for what president's agenda is, not for what the republican agenda is, but someone who is

going to make his or her mind of that we urge all our research plan on doing what they were doing anyway, which is to vote for their constituents. but one issue that is front and center, it was important in the pennsylvania election, when it comes to jobs, people want to eliminate tax loopholes that encourage american but -- american companies to export american jobs. in the house, we expect to have a vote on legislation that would invest more money in the guided states for build america bonds and research and development. we're going to pay for them in part by shutting down a loophole that encourages companies to move overseas and take jobs overseas. it is the exact kind of issue that voters in patrick murphy's district or other swing districts are going to look at because it is a very clear

choice. are you for investing in jobs at home or do you want to continue this loophole that a lot of creative tax lawyers have exploited to ship jobs overseas? >> how do you see the passion that is out there right now -- is a mostly anti-incumbent or anti-establishment or and i- obama? what is your sense of the nature of this passion? >> i think it is anti-business as usual. and tight the kind of policy and called -- anti-the kind of policy -- >> but that') not good for the incumbent party. >> we are the party in power in the sense that we have a majority in congress and we have the white house. but ironically, we have also been there -- we have also been the party of reform. all of the measures we have been trying to push through congress are today change the old

business as usual that got us into this mess to begin with. that is what the wall street reform bill is all about. reforming the systems of taxpayers are not left holding the bag. that is why it is interesting to see republicans do voted to come to the rescue of the big banks saying they will make the taxpayers to get a free of a future crisis. the whole purpose of the bill is to prevent taxpayers from being left holding the bag again and having to pay for stupid decisions made on wall street. the people on wall street should have to pay for their own stupid decisions. whether it is wall street reform or whether it is health-care reform and diminishing the power of the big insurance companies, whether it is clean energy or whether it is taking the banks out of the student loan program, where they were getting a lot of money without taking any risks,

republicans have said we would like the old way. i think voters are going to see this election as a are you for the old business as usual that created this mess or are you for something to get moving again? what comes to getting is moving again, the recovery bill has been a big part of it. we have republican colleagues showing up a ground-breaking ceremonies and ribbon cutting ceremony even though they never would have occurred if they had their way. but that is going to be the question. where do you want to live on the economy and jobs? they have been carping from the sidelines and people built by that. >> rep van hollen, we have to leave it there. thank you for being on "newsmakers." but turn to our reporters for a brief wrap up of what we heard from representatives chris van hollen. you were asking him to characterize the mood -- is it

anti-establishment, and i- washington incumbent, anti- obama. >> he says that he thinks it is anti-business as usual. i said that was interesting big fish your party controls the house, senate and white house. his answer from there is that he did not means a much exactly the way the government has been operating in the last few months, but the longer-term efforts to change things he thinks the public's dislike such as the abuses which led to the mortgage crisis meltdown, what he sees as too much influence by wall street and that sort of thing. so i thought that was not a bad answer if the democrats can sell that argument. why think he seemed to be saying was we have not had quite enough time to make these changes. >> the threading of the needle, the really hard part is -- you

and i both asked about some of the older chairman who ever been around for a long time and if it is anti-business as usual, i ask all the is 78 years old and chairman of the house armed services committee. john spratt is 67 and those guys have been your combined is something like 50 or 60 years. how do you make them and to change agents? at 78, there's a lot of change left in new. >> what i was trying to get that is what kind of conversations do you have with these guys and strategy back in your district office? what is the dccc saying about their strategy and how they go about trying to win their next election? >> he will answer that directly, but in my reporng