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tv   Tonight From Washington  CSPAN  October 13, 2010 9:00pm-11:00pm EDT

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one man who thought that a 911 call should be taxed. one-man who thought property taxes should be height almost 50%. one man who left new castle county on the brink of bankruptcy. he is taxing everything in sight. chris coons is the taxman. . . we have to invest in training and stop -- we should be doing
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more to invest in companies that invest in us. >> if we do not fight for this economy we're giving up on the future. >> you can watch many more campaign ads on our politics website. you will find video along with the analysis from political reporters. visit us online at cspan.org/politics. lisa murkowski has file paperwork to be eligible for write-in candidacy. whetheremains unclear election officials will count if her name is misspelled.
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c-span will give you a key debates. up next, the california governor's debate. an update on campaigns and u.s. house races in followed by a ebate between a hawaii's gubernatorial candidates. >> c-span, bringing new politics and public affairs. every morning it is "washington journal". on weekdays, live coverage of the u.s. house of representatives. weeknights, congressional hearings and policy forms. look for our signature programs. "newsmakers" and "q&a" on sunday night. through november, seek coverage
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of campaign 2010 as the political parties battle for control. programming is available any time at c-span.org and searchable at the video library. created by cable, provided as a public service. candidates met for their third and final debate yesterday. showed jerry brown leading 50%-43%. tom brokaw moderated this debate at dominican university. >> live from dominican university. now, tom brokaw.
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>> good evening. welcome to the third and final debate of 2010, the race for governor. a crucial election at a crucial time for this state and the mate -- the nation. the winner will face daunting issues on the economy and jobs, the budget come in pensions, immigration, education and health care. we will get answers to those questions all these topics and more. from the democratic candidate, attorney general jerry brown and the republican contender meg whitman. let's review their rules of engagement. each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer each question. rebuttal and follow-ups will be allowed at my discretion. there will last for 30 seconds. there is a great deal of ground to cover. the candidates have agreed to for growth opening statements
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and a coin toss was held to determine which gets there first question. that will go to meg whitman. jerry brown will get the last question. welcome and nice to have you with us. let me remind you of something that you were familiar with that one point. 50 years ago, this january, john f. kennedy at his inauguration said ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. modern campaigns and doors is no exception spent most of their time telling voters what they can do for them. tonight, i would like you to begin by looking into the camera and saying to the voters of california as citizens of the stake, this is what you must do for california at this crucial time. to dominican fo
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university. i am delighted to be here. i will tell you why i came to california. my husband and i moved here as newlyweds. my husband wide to be a doctor and i wanted to be in business. everything was possible in california. i was very lucky. i ended up running one of the great internet success stories and lived in the california dream. i did nothing my story would be possible in any other country or any other state. when i see as the california dream is broken. not everyone has a chance to live their life to raise their children and send their kids to public schools, to be successful. that is why i am running for governor. i want to bring that dream alive. what people are going to have to do is support the next governor in making some tough tradeoffs. we have a government we can no
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longer afford. we continue to spend more money than we taken. there will be some tough tradeoffs. everyone will have to make a sacrifice to get california back on track. if we do that, i can tell you, we have an incredible opportunity. this is a great stay with tremendous people. more compassionate, more courage, more innovation than any other state. we will have to pull together. what we can do together, none of us can do alone. there will have to be some shared sacrifice. >> thank you. i think the sponsors -- thank the sponsors of the debate and allowing us to come into your homes. john f. kennedy did ask americans ask not what you can do for yourselves but what you can do for your country. i have to tell the people of california, we do have to make some tough decisions and live
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within our means. we cannot point the finger or scapegoat. whether it is government employees or immigrants or neighbors down the street or the opposite political party. we will have to rise above the poisonous partisanship and our comfort shoezone. we have to think for the first time as californians. as californians first, as members of these other categories second. we are great state. we have tremendous potential. well people on the east coast say this is some kind of a failed state, it is not. the wealth created by the people and businesses of this date = $1.80 trillion. more than most of the countries in the world. this is a wealthy, a fabulous place with a great environment. i love california and i have lived here all my life. i want to say think i can fix
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it. that is what i want to do. >> the pew organization polled the voters in california. 40% said you can cut the state budget by 20% and not affect the services they have gotten used to. someone did an analysis and to make that kind of cut, you have to give up the business system, transportation, and welfare. the voters become utterly unrealistic about the realities of their situation. >> the voters of california have the right instincts. they know the government is not run efficiently and effectively. the first thing we have to do to get this budget on track as we have to put californians back to work. for families, the solution is a job. that is the solution for the budget.
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i have identified $15 billion worth of savings i think if we achieve that, it will make californians stronger, not weaker. we need to have fewer people working and we need to use technology to do more with less. we have to make tough reforms. to the public employee pension system. cannot be afforded any more. it is an unfunded liability. the taxpayers owe more money than they can afford to pay. we have to reform welfare. we have become the welfare state. 12% of the population lives here and we have 32% of the welfare cases. we have the longest time on welfare. it is not the right thing for our budget but it is not the right thing for our communities. we have to run the government
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more efficiently and effectively. the bay bridge is a perfect example. the seismic repairs were supposed to cost $1 billion and it cost $4 billion. overbudget, simply not acceptable. the parties blame each other as opposed to taking accountability. >> the voters have become unrealistic about the hard choices they have to make? >> we are unrealistic when it comes to pain or sacrifice. we do not like to face the tough choices. i said government was facing an era of limits. people did not like that. they misinterpreted and ignited. it is true. we have limits and we have to recognize them. we make choices. you choose one thing over another. with the complexity of this government, i decided the budget process has to start not in january and dawdle along until
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june and october. i want to start this process in november. i will do it in sacramento and then to southern california. i want to go to the central valley. i want the people of this state to reflect on what is their state government is doing. how much of this to the one and how much does it cost and how much do they want to pay? we're suffering from a gap. it was caused not just by overspending but also the wall street mill down, by the washington inability to regulate the banks. we have received a lot of good judgments. here we are. we can return power to the local level where people can judge more quickly. we're going to dig into where we can and those at the top should cut first and lead by example.
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i will do that if i am the next governor. >> let me raise what has become a holy grail in the state, proposition 13. i was here when it was passed and it put limits on property- tax as. a lot of people see that as a boulder in the road to reform and others see it as a sacred heart of the telephone -- california tax cut. can you achieve the goals he have outlined without reforming in some fashion proposition 13 which has been in this state for almost 40 years? >> proposition 13 is absolutely essential to the future of california. i want to defend proposition 13. what it does is keep a lid on property taxes. i was in diamond bar in southern california. within the home of an older
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woman. if this property taxes had escalated without proposition 13, her taxes would have been $6,000 more per year. one of the reasons i am running is to defend proposition 13. the only sustainable way to increase tax revenues is create more jobs. the more jobs there are, the more companies are paying taxes, more individuals are paying taxes. the only way we will do that is we have to reduce taxes and decrease -- streamline regulation which is struggling businesses and we have to compete for jobs. it is not ok that many big companies are leaving california for neighboring states like arizona or colorado or utah. the headquarters of a health- care services company in l.a. announced they are moving to denver. it is simpler and easier to do
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business in neighboring states. we have to compete by having competitive tax rates and being held to small business and big business as opposed to putting a stop sign in their way and saying doing business in california will be harder than it is in neighboring states. >> is proposition 13 sacrosanct? >> there is no sacred cows over the long term. i support the implementation of proposition 13. i once opposed it. howard jarvis, the author of proposition 13 voted for me because he said even while he created 13 to my was the one who made it work. i built up a $5 billion surplus which did not exist when i became governor. we were looking at recession. i held down spending. there is a couple of myths. the actual business side of the [unintelligible] their assessed values have
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grown. we have to find ways to live within our means and make tough decisions and return the authority to local level. a lot of the problem is because the state provided bailout and money, the state took over more power. micromanaging the schools and sending more controls down to cities and counties. i would do my at most to return authority and decision making to local communities where it is closer to the people. one that would not do to compound the budget, i would not totally eliminate the capital gains tax which my opponent wants to do. that benefits mostly millionaires and billionaires and would add 5 billion to $10 billion and a lot of that money would have to come from public schools. >> jerry brown is wrong about this.
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the capital gains tax, the taxi like so much is a tax on jobs and job creators and a tax on investment. we compete with other states. washington, texas, and nevada have no capital gains tax. if we eliminate this what you will see is more jobs, more big -- businesses and tax revenues. we can -- we're not competitive. to the recovery i have planned, tax cuts are not part of it. >> 82% of the benefit will go to people making $500,000 a year. there is not one guarantee it will spend that money. how much money would you save if these tax breaks were in effect this year or last year? >> i am an investor.
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investors will benefit from this but so will job creators. i was a job creator. we have to get someone in office who knows what the conditions are for small businesses to grow and thrive. my track record is creating jobs. my business is creating jobs, your business has been politics. you have been doing this for 40 years and you have been part of war on jobs in the state for 40 years. you have increased regulations and increased taxes. you have made it more difficult for small businesses to grow and thrive. >> those last three statements are false. pointed out by a hometown newspaper. taxes went down when i was governor. jobs were 4.9 million. i had not been in office for 28
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years. there were three republicans. you can call those people to account. [applause] >> i have to answer that if that is all right. >> what you just heard is a classic politician's answer. a half answer and dishonest. jerry brown talks about having created these jobs when he was governor. unemployment nearly doubled to what was then a record 11%. there were 400,000 more californians without a job at the end of this term. that is the kind of half answer and the reason people do not trust politicians. spending went up. deficit went from a $6 billion surplus to $1 billion budget deficit. you need to be accountable. >> two points. your story on pensions is 0--
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will get to that. you know about the business cycle. we get booms and busts. unemployment goes up. we have come back. seven times since world war ii. we did create new jobs. two years later, california was booming again as we will. if we make the tough decisions and live within our means. >> i looked up the numbers at the end of mr. brown's term and it was in the middle of the ronald reagan recession. there were four republican states, illinois, ohio, michigan, and -- indiana and tennessee. they had higher unemployment rates. let me get back to you on the budget. we have been through a torturous
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process. it took 100 days for the legislature and the governor to reach what everyone agreed is a budget of smoke and mirrors. the numbers do not hold up. you have said that the process is the plan. you have outlined something similar to what they went through to this -- to get to a balanced budget. has the experience undermined any authenticity to the plan you want to put forward to the voters of california? >> i will tell you why it is different. i have done a budget. four of them were on time and a couple were a few days late. i have done this before. my plan is not to have the governor of present a budget and everyone sits around until june and get serious around august and september. two weeks after this election,
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the next governor should call the legislature's -- legislators into the room and start going over the budget in detail. i want to work on a budget and i want to take it on the road. you said earlier the people who have certain ideas about the budget may or may not be true. we have to articulate what is -- where dawan in our schools and prisons and highways and water works? that intense of conversation, not the 4000 bills for the fund- raising, not the gimmicks and perks we see in sacramento. i want something entirely different. i want to start at the top. i want to see the governor cut 10% to 15% out of his budget. >> taking the budget that was
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just passed, in your first 100 days, what alterations would do make in the budget if you are elected? >> the next governor has to have a plan. attorney general brown said the process is the plan. if you like the process we have in sacramento, if you think this is working for californians to light you should select jerry brown. it will be the same old same old. i bring an entirely fresh approach and a detailed plan that will engage the legislature. when governor brown said he will start by cutting 10% to 15% of the budget, do you know how much that is? >> it was bigger than when i was there. >> the budget is $18 million. if he cuts 15% out of the budget he will save $2.7 million. less than one one-hundredth of 1% of the $20 billion budget
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deficit we face. if that is your plan for fixing the budget, we have big problems. i have a detailed plan. that is part of leadership. you have to say what you think is the plan to give californians back on track. we have to engage the legislature and make sure you have the right appointments. the governor has got to have a plan and a way forward. if you do not know which way you're going, any road will take you there. that is the problem with the dysfunctional government we have in california today. we need a fresh approach, a different approach. and have 30 years out experience. when we have a problem in silicon valley, we figure out how to go after. you figure it out using technology. in sacramento, they hunker down and do the same thing over and over and it will not work in the future. >> let me move onto another subject. >> i know what the budget of the
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governor is. it is a fraction of what it was when i was governor. i want those in power at the top to lead by example. i want to see them feel some of the pain and the sacrifice. it is hard to ask those below you to have a plan. 40,000 people, she did not say where or what departments. you have to get the legislature on board or nothing happens. [cheers and applause] >> let me come to you. the 100,000 pound gorilla is pension programs. it is being compared to greece in some sectors. you have 12,000 state employees more than100,000 g
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$100,000 a year. any form of the pension program, what is the role of current pensioners? should they be required to start cutting back on the imm after a day feel obligated to receive -- on the money they feel obligated to receive? >> i have a detailed pension reform plan. you can go to jerrybrown.com and see it. you asked about existing employees. they can contribute. you can increase the amount of money contributing. that is the quickest way to inject money into the pensions. the pension systems have been telling the politicians you can keep expanding it. when i left the governorship, i put in the budget act. they ignore that. we need a two-tier pension
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system and we need to bargain collectively and you sit down with the labor groups that are old has. he has gotten some significant concessions. it is based on actuarial data. well the stock market give us, what we can expect and what is made up by the employee or the employer. if employees do not kick in, the employer will have to lay people off or reduce wages. a knowledgeable governor can get the kind of pension compromises that the actuarial numbers required. i pledge i will do precisely that. >> does that mean that those or receiving the pensions now are taken off the table? >> the existing pensioners we cannot touch. they struck a deal and they are retired. they need to have what they have burned. you have to listen to what jerry brown says. it is due as i say not as i do. when you look at oakland, the highest-paid city manager was
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his city manager. there were 1100 employees who make over $100,000 and the number of employees who make $200,000 has gone up by 740%. we have to take this on. here is the problem with the system. if you are a rank-and-file civil servant, you can retire at 55 with much of your salary and much of your health care benefits till the day you die. virtually no one in the audience near the deal. fees have gone up and at csu. the pensions have got so big for the faculty and staff is squeezing out the students. if we do not resolve this pension issue, it is going to cause california to run out of money. just to give you some perspective. we spent $300 million a year supporting the public pensions.
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it is $3.90 billion today. new employees have got to come in under a different deal. if 401k style plan. for those who defend our people, they need to stay on a defined program. the rank and file deal has to be different. we cannot afford [unintelligible] >> i was looking at the retirement plan -- they retire on pensions down to $150,000. a four-star general retires at a number lower than that. the city of los angeles will be on the hook for $2 billion in
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pension programs. that cost will come to sacramento at some point. should there be a state law as well that oversees the municipalities and county governments and the pension programs they have? >> here is where the governor needs to exercise true leadership. one-third of the city of los angeles budget could go too often. . we have a 60 billion-100 [unintelligible] sets the table for the rest of the unions. jerry brown is beholden to the public employee unions. they have paid for his entire campaign. they're paying for the independent expenditures that are going to attack ads against me. i am spending my money in this race but it gives me the independents to go to sacramento. i will not owe anything to anybody except for the voters and i will have the independence to take on this serious problem. we have got to find a solution
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that is fair to government workers but fair to the hard- working taxpayers. i fear for people to retire at $300,000 a year when i four-star general retires at a fraction of that. >> we're doing pretty well on time. we have to keep track of the lights. >> go to the internet and look at the oakland tribune where some of the comments she made about what i did or did not do at oakland are refuted. the endorsed me and made the point that she distorts the facts. there is one unexplained elephant. she will exempt fire and police from her pension reform and they
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are 25% of the pension costs. everyone has got to sacrifice whatever union there and i and and whatever service and we have to make it fair to the workers and taxpayers and actuarially sound and i will do that. >> let me answer that. i did not exempt public safety from pension reform. we have to take the age from 50- 55 for retirement. you have to extend the individuals who will contribute more. public safety officials have burned a defined benefit program. i am not exempting the public safety part. one of the biggest lovers is the number of people who work for the state. that number has increased by 33,000 over the past five years when the revenues were about where they are today. we have a government we cannot afford and we have to shrink the size of government to make california stronger to get us back on track. >> you attempted to reach out to the police union.
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the telephone message was left on is a notorious part of the campaign. someone referred to meg whitman as "a whore". we have heard no average from you about that language. have you been in charge of the investigation to find out who was responsible? >> i do not agree with that comparison. that was a private conversation picked up on a cell phone with a garbled transmission. this is not -- i do not want to get into the term and how it is used. the campaign apologized and i affirm that apology tonight. >> you are repeating it to ms. whitman. >> i am sorry it apologize --
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and i apologize. >> the people deserve better and it is not our better selves. people know -- every californian and especially women know what is going on here. that is a deeply offensive term to women. >> have you chastised your chairman who called the congress whores to the public sector union? >> that is a completely different thing. the fact that you are defending your campaign for a smaller -- a slur and personal attack is not befitting of california and the office. >> a private conversation, i am not sure it is legal. you have to get the consent of all the parties and there were lots of people talking.
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serrie it happened. that does not represent anything in the campaign. the issue is pension reform. you got the endorsement of that union and i did not. they said i would be too tough and i will take that. >[cheers and applause] >> please, we have a lot of things to cover and we would like you not to be as demonstrative. >> that union knows i will be tough on crime and jerry brown has a 40-year record of being soft on crime. he appointed judges who were being appointed by the judges, he is against the death penalty. that union knew exactly where i stood on pensions. i put out a detailed plan in march and that decision was made in late summer. they said i would be a better
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defender of the death penalty and i will be the friend of law enforcement and that is where i got the endorsement. [applause] >> i have received the endorsement of the california police chiefs, the largest organization of the management. also several deputy sheriffs organizations and they know i am tough on crime and i have defended the death penalty as attorney general. probably more than anyone in the state or perhaps even the country. >> the contest between ab 32 and proposition 23. rolling back carbon levels to 1990 levels by 20/20. it is supported by gov. schwarzenegger and by george shultz. one of the most distinguished californians.
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you said it was a job killer. you said you would suspended for a year and examine it. i you saying that george shultz is wrong when he claims proposition 23 will kill a bill that creates a green jobs for the state of california? >> let me tell you where i stand. first, ab 32 was signed into existence in 2006. could we stimulate green jobs and that was the plan. we had a 12.4% unemployment rate. here is what people need to understand. today, only 3% of jobs are green and 97% of jobs are in the other part of the economy. 32 will do damage to the 97% of the jobs in the rest of the economy. it is not fair to the employees
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in trucking and packaging to drive those jobs out of state. i called for a one-year moratorium. which was built into that law. there is a provision to freeze it and fix it. that is what want to do. i want to freeze the implementation for year and fix it to see if we can nurture green jobs but not drive 97% of the other economy out of the state. that is my plan. with regard to proposition 23, that would have eliminated ab 32. i thought a one-year moratorium on the implementation was a better way to go. that is where i stand. we can be green and smart. we cannot be -- jeopardize the unemployment -- the jobs of people who are working hard and barely making it because we have 2.3 million californians who wake up without a job. that has to be our first party to keep people unemployed.
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>> it has turned the clock back and it is stop and start encourage regulatory uncertainty. the california resources board has adopted a requirement that one third of our electricity use before renewable energy. i have a plan to reach that goal. 40,000 megawatts by 20/20. when you stop the requirement as she is advocating, you create uncertainty. you create doubt. another part is the low fuel low carbon fuel standard. that incentivizes biofuels and other substitutes for oil. you do not want to pull that incentive back. the people who are crying are well companies in texas and a big petrochemical conglomerate. they're putting up the money and they do not want to do with it. one of them said they will use less oil in california. you bet. we will use more california sun
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and wind. we will get it done. [applause] >> let me answer that. he did not answer the question. what is he going to do about the 97% of jobs that will be hurt by ab 32? there was a provision. in times of economic press when we have citizens without jobs, i was in lancaster the other day and a woman came up to me in tears saying her husband had lost their jobs and they were not sure they would hang onto their house. what is wrong with taking a pause, what is wrong with being smart and green and protecting the 97% of employees that are vulnerable to a blind implementation of this bill? >> there is no credible study that says 97% of the rest of the economy will be hurt. there was an economic study out
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of -- that has been debunked. the oil companies are screaming. if you put thousands to work, retrofitting buildings so they do not burn as much energy, that will put people to work and save money to consumers. i adopted those fuel efficiency standards. it saved californians $50 billion and created 1 million jobs. i want to do that again. >> i want to move to another area. what has been the role of the teachers' union in the state of education in california currently? >> it is an important role. there represent through free elections hundreds of thousands of teachers in california classrooms. they are a strong advocate for more money for schools. that is important when you have people like meg whitman coming around wanting to cut the capital gains tax.
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the teachers are a powerful union. arnold schwarzenegger learned that. you do not go to war with all the major elements. she has raised $30 million from the people who will benefit from the capital gains tax. i am getting support from many unions as well as business. you have to be tough. i've read of the pay raises of the state employees not once but twice. i was the one who said we have to have a two-tier pension system 20 years ago. i feel i have got what it takes to do the right thing to work with people and to stand up when they resist things that we need for california. >> jerry brown needs to get out and campaign more. every campaign stop by have -- i have, i hear a story about someone who was in jeopardy of losing their jobs because of ab
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32. let me turn to the california teachers association. we have a mess on our hands in the k-12 public system. we are rated almost at the bottom. in a who was part of the problem and not part of the solution? the bosses of the california teachers association. we have to change how we do things and have more charter schools and pay the better teachers more. we have to read every single public school. the union fights change. there is apparent and teacher association and the california teachers association. there is no kid association. i want to defend the children. we're going to have to make radical changes. [applause] >> this brings me to something else. you are spending $120 million of your own fortune on this campaign.
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money that you learned and you have a legal right to spend it in this campaign. a lot of people wonder if you were so interested in california, where you did not vote to all those years were get involved in state commissions or other parts of public life? is there something about how you have used your fortune for the good of california in other causes we do not know that you would like to share with us? >> let me talk about voting. i have a lot to say. i am not proud of my voting record. it was wrong and i take full accountability and responsibility for it and i apologize to the people of california. you are right to look at that. every candidate is a package of strengths and weaknesses. i have a lot to offer. the reason i have invested my own money is i think we can make california a much stronger. i think we can revive the california dream for every single californian. i am against some big entrenched
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interests. the public employee unions have poured money into this campaign. they have poured $300 million to control politics in sacramento. that expenditure allows me to be independent, to go to sacramento with no strings attached. if jerry brown gets to the governor, there'll be a meeting. he talks about bringing people together. there will be a meeting of the union bosses who are there to collect the ious for them having funded jerry brown's entire campaign. that ability to invest my own money allows the independence. we have a family foundation that supports higher education and health care. my focus now is turning the state of california around. i bring tremendous expertise from the private sector. i know how to balance budgets. i bring a common sense approach from the real world. this was supposed to be a
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citizen democracy. you would be anchored in the real world having faced challenges and that is what i bring to this race. [applause] >> first, my campaign has been supported by many businesses and individuals. we have raised $2 million on the internet alone. ms. whitman raise $30 million from the executives that will benefit from her economic plank which is not to invest in schools but to take money and invest in her rich campaign contributors. the people ought to take that into account. when i ran for attorney general, the california teachers association osupported me. i created two charter schools
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and they are doing well. my family foundation put in $1.10 million in these charter schools because they needed the money. i learned a lot about how schools work and i appreciate charter schools. i appreciate the fact that 95% of the kids go to regular schools. that is where we have to put our attention. not by changing the numerical grade to a letter grade but by recruiting the best teachers weekend, taking control from sacramento, moving it down to the districts and the schools and teachers, letting the people close to the students have the power and authority to make the tough teaching decisions. [applause] >> mr. brown said something he knows is not true. i have never said i want to cut spending on education. i want to continue to invest in education. i have a different plan on how we spend the money. of all the money we spend, $70 billion, only 60 cents of every
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dollar goes to the classroom. 40% goes to the bureaucracy. we're starting the students to force feed the bureaucracy. that is why the next governor cannot be beholden to the teachers association because they want to protect that bureaucracy. the no. 2 contributor is the california teachers association. >> let me move on if i can. let me go back to immigration. there are a couple of unresolved questions. businesses and households want to be held accountable for employing undocumented workers as they're called in california. you said that businesses, three strikes and you're out. you discovered you had an undocumented worker with good documents she had who worked for you for nine years. if you could not find someone in your home who was undocumented or illegal, how do expect
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businesses to be able to do that? >> so. we went through an employment agency and looked at three forms of id and our housekeeper falsified them and came to a minute. i had to let her go. this is why we need a good system that allows a business of every size to look at the documentation and know whether it is real or not. we have to hold employers accountable for hiring undocumented workers. illegal immigration is a huge challenge. $6 billion to $7 billion goes to services for illegal immigrants. what want to do is secure the border. the border patrol agents need more resources, more border patrol, more technology, hold employers accountable, eliminate sanctuary cities. we have to have a temporary
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guest worker program that allows people to be here on a temporary basis and work in all kinds of different industries, whether it is agriculture or hospitality. i did not think the arizona law was right for california. it was divisive and be caught up in the courts and i have a better plan. we have to solve this problem. it is one of the major challenges facing california and i think i have a great plan to do it. [applause] >> mr. brown. you are the chief law- enforcement officer. why should not businesses be held responsible and pay a penalty if they continue to do so? >> this is a federal government responsibility. almost every police chief i know does not want to be in the business of [unintelligible] i have signed agreements with the federal government so those
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illegal immigrants who are arrested, their fingerprints are sent back to washington to my office and if they are illegal, they are subject to deportation. the biggest problem, we have millions who are here illegally in the country and california. there in the shadows. is she going to deport them or will we leave them there? we need a comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level. i support that. without a path to citizenship, we have no way to deal with the people who have been here for years and have kids going to schools and have not broken laws. we need to think about this carefully from a human point of view. these are real people. mothers and dads and kids. they have this fear, the fear that her housekeeper had. i do not want to get into that story. it is kind of a sorry tale. after working for her nine
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years, she did not even get her lawyer. i can tell you that could be done. that sounds like the old bracero program. what the people want is temporary workers who of they do right by the employer, they can get citizenship. that is treating mexican people as semi-serfs. i do not think that is human and i do not think that is right. [cheers and applause] >> let me move on to another dimension of the relationship between california and mexico. mexico is in a state of near anarchy because of drug violence. the blame is always focus on mexico. that violence is a result of the enormous purchasing power of drugs in states especially like california. i have heard neither one of you talk about cracking down on
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illegal drug consumption in california which would go a long way toward helping mexico, our southern neighbor, do something about drug cartel violence. you're the chief law-enforcement officer. that has not been a high priority as far as i can tell. >> i have to differ with you. as part of my department, we have the bureau of narcotic enforcement. we have had several take downs of cartel inspired drug operations. in prison convicted drug operation in salinas, atwater, stockton, in the imperial valley. i have been there myself to see it. it is tough and dangerous. the cartel's are beginning to infiltrate. not a lot but the specter is there. we have gang task forces. the legislature cut that.
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i found funds to restore most of it. i feel strongly that this operation connected to mexico and gangs is a high priority. i have made it a high priority. >> let me give you a different spin. you are opposed to the proposition that would legalize marijuana. what would happen if tomorrow, marijuana or legalized, license, and controlled by the state because it is no secret in this state and across the country, people can get it whenever and wherever they want to. >> i am firmly opposed to proposition 19, the legalization of marijuana. i do not think it is the right thing for our young people and community. do not ask me to ask law- enforcement. every single law enforcement official is against proposition 19. i will make one other comment. jerry brown says he is tough on drugs and drug crime. the narcotics officer
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association has chosen to endorse me. they know i will back up public safety in california. this is one of the biggest differences between me and the attorney general. our point of view on law enforcement. jerry brown has been soft on crime for 40 years. he has been against the death penalty and has appointed judges, rose berg who fought 60 cases of capital punishment. she was recalled. you have to look at the california peace officers association who endorsed me, the cops of the police protective league of los angeles. there is no more front-line organization then the cops in los angeles and they know i will back them up and fight drugs in california. >> let me ask about another
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proposition. proposition 8, banning gay marriages. how important is that to california and to you personally on a scale of 1-10? >> i am running for governor because we need to do three things. we need to jump-start our economy and get californians back to work. we have to cut wasteful government spending and our k-12 education system is a mess and we have to turn it around because we are denying children a chance at a great education. proposition 8, i was opposed. i think that term marriage needs to be between a man and woman. i was in favor of the progress of civil union laws. the question is, what is the obligation of the attorney general to defend proposition h which is part of the constitution of the u.s. so it can have its day in court in the ninth circuit court of appeals and the supreme court. the chief law-enforcement
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officer needs to defend that lawsuit regardless. 52% voted for that amendment and they need to have their day in court. it needs to go to the appeals process. jerry brown has refused to defend that and i think it is dangerous. you cannot have a governor or attorney general who makes a decision of what part of the constitution the will and will not defend. i do not think that is the judgment call want being made. we have the governor and attorney general who will defend the constitution of the state of california. >> the prior attorney general did not want to defend a discriminatory initiative. the 14th amendment bans this kind of discrimination. i am not entering the court and diei will not appeal it. it can be appealed.
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when something is so fundamentally wrong as -- after a long trial, the judge said this violates the 14th amendment, i will not be the one to take that up. one more thing on the cops. i have the police chiefs backing me. they know i am tough on crime. >> he was going to say he has the police chiefs in his back pocket. >> unaccustomed as i am to politics, i stumbled in one of my phrases. i have their backing. they know you will not be as tough. one said brown will be too tough on unions and that is why we are supporting meg whitman. i have been a tough attorney general and i support of the three strikes. i will support some reform.
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since i left the governorship, the bel20 to prisons and they have been adding to the problem. we need criminal justice reform, reentry and we need to be tough on crime. [applause] >> thank you. we're closing in on the final questions. let me try to get a couple of quick takes. what do you think of the job president obama is doing and would you like to have him campaign at your side? >> he is coming to campaign for me. i am happy with that. this man has created stimulus and help stabilize our banks and we have a health care plan that people since harry truman have been tried to get enacted. not perfect. he is facing tremendous and and reasoned opposition by a small faction of the republican people in washington. i think obama is doing a good job. [applause] >> ms. whitman, a force in your
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party is sarah palin. she has been the governor of the big western states. are you going to see current vice after her experience in alaska? >> >> sarah palin has a real following in the republican party. i have supported john mccain or mitt romney. i will be out with voters and talking about the things that matter to californians and that is jobs. if we do not cut taxes, streamlined regulation, there is no way we will get out of this financial mess. think about a family for a minute. what a job does is put the family budget back together. what more jobs in california will do is put the california budget back together. i have to say one thing -- the
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notion that jerry brown will be tough on unions is just a fairy tale. he has been joined at the hip with them for 40 years. >> we have two minutes left. i want to get from each of you a question that is central to california. in the 21st century, does it california have to reform its political structure, referendums, 2/3 votes on any budget. do you have to go back and build a state politically from the ground up? >> i think there is a way forward with some fundamental reform. and the budget plan that i have is a first to increase tax revenues by more companies, more jobs being in california. we have to get our hands around government spending. we spend more money than we take in. but there are three reforms i would be interested in it. first is a two-year budgeting process. the one-year budgeting process does not work for us anymore
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because it does not allow you to make the investments you need or have a long-term perspective. >> i know. you're at the red light. mr. brown, less than a minute. >> look, i am going to take the world as i find it. we need to -- i hope we get a majority vote for the budget, not for taxes. another part of my proposal is a pay-as-you-go requirement. everytime you propose a bill, tell us how he will find it. i want to say something about unions and businesses. they are all influencers, they are part of the democratic process. i have been in the kitchen. i have taken the heat. she has been in the bleachers looking at what is happening in the government. i love california. i know how it works, and i have the intestinal fortitude to do what it is -- what is right.
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>> thank you very much. jerry brown, the attorney general, meg whitman the ceo of ebay. thanks to dominican college and everyone here. >> between now and the november 2 elections, c-span will bring new campaign debates from key races. our campaign coverage continues with an update on key house races. then a debate between hawaii's candidates for governor, and first lady michelle obama makes a campaign appearance in milwaukee for senator russ feingold. coverage debate continues tomorrow night with the only planned debate between harry reid and his republican challenger sharon engle. a recent poll shows ms.
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% lead.ith a 42% to 40 $ lead thirdates in nevada's cadastral district -- istrict debatedebat at 11:00 p.m. eastern. >> it is a unique insight into how the court works. online, all free at the c-span video library. it's washington your way occurred >> this morning, we spoke to a reporter for the hill newspaper to get an update on this year's house races. this is 40 minutes. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]
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d'aprile is "the hill" campaign reporter. talk this through the dynamics at play here. these are states that could go either way. how are they leaving? guest: they're leaning republican. in a -- 8 out of 10 they are leaning republican. president obama won seven of these districts. there are a handful where the president still enjoys solid approval numbers. the had that -- the fact the republicans are ahead is significant. i would say that if you were looking into some of the numbers, there is at least one banner results for democrats which comes a leave-- in the seat vacated by mark kirk.
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that is such a key race for democrats. it is one they cannot afford to lose giving the territory and the terrain. host: tell us about arkansas. guest: the first congressional district could be a truck before republicans. this has been in democratic hands for over 100 years. this is conservative democratic territory. the congressman retiring is a former staffer of his, causey. crawford leads by double digits. polling suggests the national environment, the disapproval of president obama, which is high in that district, on the approval of congress, is dragging him down. president clinton is there campaigning for him.
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host: "the hill" is doing weekly polls. one thing you discover it is the majority of of voters would like to see the emergence of a viable third party. guest: this is a fascinating question. the number was quite high particularly among independents. across the 10 districts that we polled, 67% said they wanted to see a viable third party. our upholsterer remarked yesterday that it was some of the highest support he has seen -- our holster remarked that was among the highest support we have seen. among democratic and republican voters, the number was lower, but 49% of democrats saying they want a viable third party. we followed that question of asking whether or not they thought the tea party could be that viable third-party option.
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significantly fewer voters said that they would like to see the tea party as that option. 55% of republicans did. is thehane d'aprile campaign reporter for "the hill." they take a series of weekly polls leading up to the election. tell us about the first district in hawaii. guest: the republican one in a special election in may with less than 40% of the vote. this was thanks to two democrats splitting the vote. there was some division among the party and a nationally over who was the best candidate. both of them remained in that special election race.
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the republican won with about 39%. this is a heavily democratic district. it includes president obama's hometown of honolulu which would revert back to democrat. the republican is currently leading there by four points and he has some significant advantages. his spare rubles are above the 60%. -- his favorables are above 60%. he is pulling 60% of the vote away from his challenger. but he is in good position for what would be a morale boosting win for republicans if they were able to keep that seat. host: the numbers are on your screen. we are talking about midterm elections and open seats.
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you mentioned a couple of open seats that could change parties. how significant would that be? guest: we all read this book about the first district of arkansas, but that it would be significant because the democrats have held that seat for over 100 years. then you go up to wisconsin and in the race the retiring chairman of the appropriations committee who is a 20-term incumbent. that would be another tremendous win. they are in position to do it. the republican up there, deffy, leads by 9 points over lassa. there are some signs that there are dissatisfaction with president obama and converse. it is dragging -- with president obama and conagra's. this race in wisconsin is a major focus. they have put in a lot of extra
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expenditure money there. that is one of the top open seat contests. host: coming from twitter, of course we want a viable third party. they work for the government and not us. guest: we were struck by the number of independents in these districts that one of the viable third-party option. again, this is something that suggests independence to not feel let home in the current republican democratic environment. host: east in pennsylvania, on the republican line. caller: 5 the question about my home district. -- i have a question about my home district. it is currently held by republican charlie dense. it is a three-way race. is there any comment on the three-way race in pennsylvania? guest: that is not one of the
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ones that we have polled, but there is an interesting dynamic going on there and we see it in a lot of races where you have a 30 candid it's that is during a wild card aspect in there and potentially drawing some votes away even if it is just 2% or 3%, and there are a lot of districts where we will see that. there are number of districts in pennsylvania, and there are a number of them derive the state, where this satisfaction with president obama -- where dissatisfaction with president obama is playing a major role and democrats are struggling because of that. host: we are talking about illinois, arkansas, hawaii, tennessee, wisconsin. give us a call and talk with us about these races. a democratic caller from
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washington, d.c. good morning. host: i do not understand where people would vote for republicans. what you're trying to blame on obama is that the americans are making less when you adjust for inflation than we did 30 years ago and has been going on for awhile. host: how big a role as the economy playing in these races? guest: it is undoubtedly played a huge role. we did not have a question about jobs that we asked specifically. there were questions about spending and deficit that we will be talking about tomorrow in the context of these polls, but it with jobs and the economy are at the top of the list among those most motivated to vote. we saw this a little bit in the polls, but particularly in the first week when we polled the districts of 12 and freshman
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democrats, there is a large enthusiasm gap between democrats and republicans. in the most competitive districts so far, republican voters are much more energized to vote, much more likely to come out, and democrats are still trying to find a way to energize their base. host: frank in fort lauderdale, fla. good morning. caller: i like to ask a question about the race in ohio. he does world war ii reenactments. i believe he is running against a democrat who is one of the sponsors of the world war ii museum. why was this not covered? people talk about the red army, but what kind of madness is that? we have a woman here who did something for world i wari --
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world war ii veterans. guest: we wrote about that on our website. national republicans have come out and denounced the actions of that candidates, particularly congressman eric kantor -- cantor. host: his congressional races will be determined by the governor races. guest: the landscape in the governor races, they do have some very distinct advantages and they have a party committee in the democratic gov.'s association that has a staggering amounts of cash on hand than the money to spend in a lot of these gov.'s races in 2010 which will go towards the mobilization and efforts to get out the vote. the thought is that in a lot of the states where there is republican energy for gubernatorial candidates, it will trickle down and help
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people at the congressional districts. host: let's take a call from arkansas. guest: i just wanted to talk about the polling excited concerning the people wanting a third party -- the polling cited about a third party. for one thing, third parties always fayed. let me give you an example. the green party in the arkansas is struggling in the reason they fade is because of a lot of the state laws involved in getting ballot access. the green party in the arkansas has to get 3% of the vote or they will be pretty much eliminated from getting on the ballot again. i think that is one of the reasons why they usually fade at the end of where there is a
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burst of enthusiasm for a third party and then it wanes. host: on twitter, does a third party given advantage to democrats? guest: the caller brings up an excellent point. the majority of voters say they would like a third-party bid, but then actually in establishing the third party, what would that be and how would you get ballot access. the column mentions the difficulty in doing that in a loft space and he is correct about that. the really interesting thing here is that even for people we pulled that said they are interested in the tea party potentially being the third party, that is something that is really highly unlikely. the vast majority of people in the tea party movement are people who reject any thing that seems like "the establishment."
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they would then want to go ahead and create essentially their own party. it goes against what the party seems to stand for. host: lots of independent voters are up for grabs. guest: that is a pattern we are seeing in all of these races. where republicans have solid advantages, they largely come from independent voters. we saw that correlate where republicans are leading by large amounts with independent voters. we see those same independent voters having this dissatisfaction with the democratic party nationwide. those are patterns we are seeing again and again in the district's are leading the republicans. independentgo to an scholar from long island. -- caller from long island.
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caller: when the president or the first lady goes on a money raising trip for the democratic party, they talk to the voters about getting out to vote, who pays the bill? guest: that depends upon who the fund raiser is, who is hosting the fund-raiser when the president does and does a fund- raiser for the democratic congressional campaign committee, or the dnc. the event costs presumably are covered by the democratic committee, then of course the president's travel is picked up by the taxpayers as it always is. host: democratic caller from alabama. good morning. caller: thank god for c-span.
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i do not understand why the democrats are not fighting back. there is a video in the c-span video library of ronald reagan saying we would get out of manufacturing and go to a service economy. every problem this country has stems from one thing and one thing only. we got out of manufacturing. we did not make anything anymore keep -- hear, people. guest: there is some frustration that i have heard among strategists that perhaps democrats are not fighting enough in the context of going out there and talking about the legislative accomplishments of the past couple of years in congress and using those to motivate the base of their party to drum up more support. the other dynamic have going on here and we see this in
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conservative districts that are largely democratic, like the first district in west virginia, there's also the eighth district in tennessee. these blue dog democratic candidates in these districts are doing everything they can to run from the national party and create a distance from house speaker nancy pelosi. in tennessee where the dccc just told some of their advertising time, the democratic candidate said it was because he has been saying he will not vote for nancy pelosi as speaker of the house again. democrats feel like they have to create as much separation as they can from the national party, from the party leadership in washington, and obviously a lot of these people are against the major democratic initiatives that have been passed like
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healthcare, and a ball straight reform. they are speaking about this in their districts. host: the squeaky wheel gets the most attention, but the silent majority may surprise you. who is hitting the trail in these districts? you mentioned former president clinton in arkansas. as vice president by than going out? guest: absolutely. he has gone to pennsylvania. some places where people would probably not bring in president obama and former president clinton is doing the same thing. we talked about this on our website over the weekend. president clinton is the most in demand in the final few weeks before election day. he is probably the only national democrat who could go into a state like west region like he did earlier this week and campaign for governor mansion
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who finds himself in a shockingly difficult race against republican businessman. that is another one who is trying to run away from president obama as fast as he can. he shot a bullet through the cap and trade bill in one of his campaign ads. these are the types of candidates that want to see bill clinton as opposed to president obama or even vice-president joe biden. caller: this morning. i have heard over and over again that the independence and the tea party candidates do not have the experience to function in converse. after seeing the same basis for 10, 20, 30 years, look at the people with experience and what they have done for us. guest: that is the argument we are hearing from tea party- backed candidates.
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they're talking about the tea party on the trail in the context not only saying that these are people who may not have the experience to come to washington, because that is not necessarily what they are saying because you do not want to make an establishment argument, but the argument for democrats is banking these tea party candidates as extreme. labeling them as people who are just falling positions on social security and cutting medicare that are just out of the mainstream. that has been a major focus for democrats in a lot of these races. again, i think that if a lot of the steep party-backed candidates in to win and then dip in congress, the house, in the senate after november, you will see a very interesting dynamic particularly in the u.s. senate. host: republican, james, from
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washington, d.c. welcome. you are on with shane d'aprile. caller: i was calling to see about the 12th district of pennsylvania. that was the special election race. guest: the special election that the republican was expected to win when there was a last minute clinton appearance. this is a race that i think has moved off of the national radar of a lot of people. people that i have spoken to receive the congressman as safe in that district. he rdd him at burns once-- he already beat tim burns once.
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host: blackburg, va., on our democratic line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i find a ridiculous to refer to the two-party as a viable third party. it is simply a more conservative wing of the republican party. they are riding on their coattails. they will never vote independently. they will never vote for the middle of the road. they will never vote liberal. >> the caller makes an excellent point. we saw this in our polling. the majority of voters want a viable third party option, the majority of them do not want it to be the key party and do not see the tea party as a viable option. the 55% of republicans who said
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they were interested in having the tea party as that third party option, that perhaps reflects more of a desire to see the principles and ideas espoused by many of the tea party candidates in their own republican party. we see that based on what happens in our primary season where in the primary after primary they have been republican establishments. host: to the neighboring state of virginia. guest: this is an interesting one. it is one of two in the 10 that we polled in our second week of polling where the democrat was leading. it is the polar opposite from the illinois 10th district where the only other democratic is leading in this said. while traditionally democratic, we are talking about west virginia and democrats who are more conservative. there is a high level of disapproval of president obama
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and follow one of the highest numbers we have seen. there is a disapproval of the job that congress is doing. the fact that the democrats hold a slim lead here comes from the fact that he, again, to this point has succeeded in trying to distance himself from the national party. the republicans there on the state and local level -- state and national level have been attacking nancy pelosi and barack obama. host: cherry hill, new jersey. a republican caller. hi there. caller: i want to respond to a previous caller. i want someone in there that has no experience. i want some has experienced billing their tanks with gas, shopping, and it keeping their house for being foreclosed. guest: that is a sentiment we are seeing from a lot of
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independent voters who are, in fact, supporting the party candidates. there is such an anti- establishment feeling this election cycle than there are people who from any past political experience is an immediate negative. host: are you seeing that in the races you're covering this week? guest: yes. i think you could at least point to the arkansas -- arkansas first district. you have the democratic nominee is a former staffer for the retiring senator -- retiring rep. that is working against him even though he is associated with someone who has been a long time popular democratic congressman. the fact that they worked in washington and worked in the capital is something that is working against him. host: what about the new
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hampshire second? guest: that is another interesting question. the democrat up their is very much trying to make that work against him. that is going to be an interesting test to see the handful of years that he has been away from washington and out of converse, is that enough to not have him lump in to this anti-establishment knew that we have. again, an interesting issue that she is as close as she is. there are decent numbers for president obama there. she is someone that has done a good deal of support from the left of the democratic party, too. host: in the seat was vacated by paul hodes? guest: he is running for the senate.
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host: on twitter, progress is one they viable third-party the most seem to feel it never happens because of campaign finance laws and media bias. she says the system is stacked against progressives. guest: it is stacked against anyone who wants to start a viable third-party anywhere from getting them on the ballot in some states to adjust the mass of entrenched organization that the two major parties in this country already have. the best opportunity comes in a presidential here in the presidential race where they have had success in the past like ross perot. there is such a high level of discontent with both major parties and if that continues nearing 2012, it could be one of those years.
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host: democratic caller on the line from california. caller: are the republicans ready to give up their social security benefits to wall street and let them have disappeared? also, why is president obama of allowing [unintelligible] these companies have been corrected in the past and have swayed elections because the republican surge is unbelievable considering some of the candidates. it is almost ridiculous. guest: a look, the social security question comment. this has been a tough argument for democrats. the democratic national campaign committee, they're independent expenditure ads have focused very heavily on social security and accusing a number of republican candidates in the
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most competitive races of wanting to privatize social security and winning to reduce that benefit for seniors. this has been a focus not only on the house level but in the senate, too. democrats have gone after john miller in alaska and other key party-backed candidates. social security is something democrats see as a motivator for their base if they can get their message out. host: the caller also talked about the actual ballot counting. has there been a lot of conversations that you have heard among reporters and political watchers about insuring that everything is on the up and up when it comes to election day? guest: we look back to the primary season, there were some issues that cropped up particularly in new york where the state finally made the switch from one were essentially these voting machines with
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levers to newer touch screen technology. there were issues there on primary day in september. they are trying to work through that. i think he will certainly see, and i think this is a good time to perhaps mention the race in alaska. there is a write in dynamic. all sides are amassing their legal teams in anticipation of what could potentially be a write in ballot fight over whether this is a legitimate vote or not. that of the fascinating thing to watch if in fact the center gets close enough with the write in total. host: they said they would not been bothering to count the write in's unless they could
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legitimately challenged. then they will go through ballot by ballot. in new hampshire, leaving that seat open vulnerable to republicans. what is the tendency for the eighth district? the democratic congressman has vacated the sea. it has left this open possibly to a republican. guest: they have a prize recruit in this race, fincher. i'm not sure how much it can do to distance himself from the national party and the leadership in washington. he has come out and said he will not vote for speaker policy. he has made clear -- speaker nancy pelosi. he has made it clear his disagreements with some of the
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policies pursued by president obama. he is still not winning over independence and the day are significantly breaking for fincher. host: and he is a farmer? guest: yes. he did a scott brown with his red truck talking about the number of miles you put on it. you drive it. he's doing his best to appeal to the conservative leaning independents. host: when we talk about members of congress to leave to run for what iste, that's happening. tell us about that. guest: this is the tighteest --
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tightest race. he has a single digit lead with a lot of undecided voters. this district has been traditionally republican but has trended democrat. that was significantly aided by president obama and the massive number of democrats that the campaign registered in pennsylvania and the new and john registration they got in that state. this is really a district that is a complete tossup. host: is there any conversation that they are leaving their seats open to switch parties? guest: some democrats on the national level would have a preferred some of them stay in their seats especially in the
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some of these conservative democratic strongholds. you look at what happened in the first district in west virginia where the congressman, before losing in a primary and getting trounced, he ran unopposed the last time. there is very much a sense among a lot of democrats that this was potentially a way for republicans and that if they were either going to retire or potentially jump to higher office is that this should be the year to do it. host: rocco, maryland. an independent scholar. how are you? you are on with shane d'aprile. caller: i feel that part of this is due to the lawyer mentality. most people in congress are lawyers. they present one side and only one side. there are businesses and other organizations. the dialectic message is used.
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when you present your point, you talk about your strong point, weak point, both sides. you prepare and go with the best process. in the congress, we do not have that. we have them talking about generalities, obamacare, and stupid stuff. they're not talking about what health care really is an understanding these topics. host: what do you think it would change -- take to change the composition of congress? caller: of love to have a third party, but i have not met too many people that have my kind of years. i think the government is too big, but i am a social program- type person. i think you ought to have some follow-up. for instance, how does the dod manage? there are too big to manage. they did not even know where their money's going. guest: the caller makes an excellent point about compromise. we have not seen a lot of
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compromise in congress over the last few years. this foreshadows the question that we had asked in the 10 districts that we will be talking about tomorrow, about whether voters after election day would tell their newly elected representatives to go to washington in either stand for them on their principles or seek compromise across the aisle. there were some interesting results we will talk about tomorrow. host: brine from mclean, va. on the line for republicans. caller: you are very well schooled in all of these races that are virtually unknown. i want to turn back to michigan. two questions. and looks like there will be a republican governor for sure. i want to know your opinion of pete hokstra. the ninth district in michigan,
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peter has won because of the obama landslide and everyone voting straight party line. ahmanson know what your opinion is on that race. -- i wanted to know what your opinion is? could he possibly be a one-term congressman. guest: that is a good dynamic the caller brought up. hokstra suffered from the overwhelming anti-establishment sentiment that has engulfed the primary season. that is a large part of what happened there. on the ninth district, you could make the argument, as the caller suggests, that this is one of those that fits into a number that we have seen across the country where in 2008 the
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democratic candidate was in the health -- indeed helped by obama. when we looked into the democratic freshmen, there were a number ray could make that argument. tom pieriello in virgina and others won a very tight race where obama was able to win by close margins. it was able to carry a lot of democrats over the finish line. that dynamic will not be here this year. ost: our guest shane d'aprile is with "the hill." he served as the senior editor of politics magazine and worked in public radio here in washington, d.c., and in new
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york. augusta, georgia. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? i am kind of nervous. you have to bear with me. i would like to make several points. i have never in my life seen a president's act like president obama. he acts like a juvenile fighting with teenagers. all he does is slam republicans constantly, every single day. they should just get a tape recorder for all of the democrats and play that instead of listening to it over and over. the lady that was talking about the republicans getting all the money from wall street, i think they need to check their facts. the democrats have received more. goldman sachs gave him $1 million.
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i do not appreciate my representatives going to washington and getting the door slammed in their face and having no say so in the health-care bill or the stimulus package. we have the ideas and you will just have to take what we have. host: to reference what was mentioned earlier, we were talking about how wall street is trending heavily into voting republican this term over republicans. -- republicans over democrats. guest: whenever it looks like there is an opportunity for the other party to end up in power and controlling after an election, the donations tended to follow a pattern in a move towards people in that party. thank youe d'aprile, for being with us. "the hell" is continuing looking at district around the country
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and continuing >> tomorrow on "washington journal", the lifting of the ban on deep water oil drilling. "the wall street journal" reporter jon hilsenrath on the u.s. economy. we will also talk with educators and education policy analysts. "washington journal" begins like it 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. at 7:00s lives p.m. eastern on c-span pair quarks we are leveraging looking at some of the biggest races leading up to the november election. >> the incumbent is allen boyd,
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a democrat. he has been up in congress for 14 years. he is running against sutherland, the republican nominee, who won a five way primary in order to face allen boyd. the national republican congressional committee has targeted representative lamborn in this election. they will spend a lot of money with television advertisements aligning boyd with speaker pelosi and president obama. it is what we are seeing nationally -- unhappiness with the obama administration, with the economy, particularly with all the debate that went on with the health care vote. that was a very big, and cupboards and -- in a congressman boyd's district. he held a lot of town halls. there was a loud of shouting.
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in ressmen boyd's vote favor of health care legislation -- in the first round, he voted against legislation, but then he voted for it as a key winswing vote. he had a tough primary vote against all long term state legislator, and he won that 51% to 49%, a lot closer than many people thought. congressman boyd did not go with an obama endorsement in that race, which would have helped him, but looking to the general election, he did not want to have that are around his neck. the health care vote is emblematic of a large debate referendum on
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president obama. he is a blue dog democrat, fiscally conservative. he was also in strong defense of the military presence in the district. he has run a conservative, and that vote for healthcare runs counter for what republicans will paint him as. steve sutherland is a funeral director in panama city. he has raised a considerable amount of money, but not compared to congressmen boyd. in florida congressional district 2, it has a majority of democratic voters, in this district that includes tallahassee, the state capital, which is highly democratic, a more liberal center of the district.
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however, many of those registered democrats are still old line dixiecrats. and though they are registered democrat, they are very conservative and have no compunction for voting for republican candidates. president obama did not carry the congressional district in 2008, though he did in florida. it is certainly a bellwether of how the democrats will do it in this cycle, whether they will in the off-year election, how many seats they will lose in the house. holding onto congressmen boyd's seat will be key. contentn's local vehicles are visiting communities and congressional districts as we look at some of the most closely contested house races leading up to this november's midterm elections. for more information on what they are up to this election
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season, visit our web site c- span.org/lcv. >> between now and november 2 elections, we will bring you campaign debates from key races each night. next, a debate between hawaii's candidates for governor. first lady michelle obama makes a campaign appearance in milwaukee for senator russ feingold. then at tonight's delaware senate debate and last night's debate between california's gubernatorial candidate. >> "q&a" on a sunday -- justice stephen breyer. >> it is sometimes hard to avoid your basic values, how you see the country, how you see the relationship between law and the average person in this country. what do you think law is about? those basic, legal and political values are part of you, and they will sometimes influence an
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approach where the question is very open anda wh where it admis to that kind of thing. >> sunday night on c-span. this c-span network provides coverage of politics, public affairs, and on fishinnon-fictin books -- content through c-span's video library. it's washington your way. the c-span networks, now available and over 100 million homes. created by cable, available as a public service requests hawa. candidates for governor square off in a debate. neil abercrombie faced
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democratic candidate duke aiona. neil abercrombie served in the u.s. house representing hawaii's first district from 1991 until february, 2010, when he resigned to run for governor. duke aiona has served as lieutenant governor since 2002. why public radio's -- hawaii public radio moderated the vote. a polls showed the candidates tied with 48% in a survey. this is an hour and a half. >> live from the maui arts theatre -- focus 2010, a gubernatorial conversation, with
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duke aiona and former u.s. congressman neil abercrombie. toight's debate is brought you by hawaii public radio, with the support of the cultural center. tonight's program is being cable cast courtesy of the university of hawaii. and now our program -- "focus 2010." ♪ >> and good evening. welcome to "focus 2010." this is preventeesented on hawaii public radio and the
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statewide community television network. we are before a live television audience. i am the news director at hawaii public radio and your moderator for this 90 minute forum. tonight we hear from the two candidates vying to become the 18th governor of hawaii. they are, at the far end of the table, the current lieutenant governor of hawaii duke aiona. and the former u.s. congressman neil abercrombie. welcome. >> aloha. ." >> we begin with a two minute opening statement. they will then be asked to respond to questions submitted in advance. the questions will have to the neighbor island focus and they will be based on the focus maui values which are
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education, environment, infrastructure, economic development, and human and cultural concerns. you can find out more about that on the website. each of the candidates will have 1.5 minutes to respond to questions. there will be an optional rebuttal of one minute in the same order they answer the original question. the order will rotate with each question. the candidates receive a closing question, the last one of the evening, prior to this debate. from this point on, i will not use your current or former titles or positions. i will address you by your names as they appear on the election ballot. ready? let's begin. candidates, you have two minutes for an opening statement. there will be no rebuttal. we start with james duke aiona. >> good evening, everyone. aloha. i want to thank public radio for
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all -- foand all of your for being here tonight. i want to reduce the financial burden on our working families and small business and i want to make sure that we invest in education. it is important that we have balance in state government. i think you see what is happening now in washington, d.c., not only with the democrats but also with the republicans when they had one- party majority rule. i think you see how that has been in a state legislator were 90% of our legislators belong to one party. the primary responsibility for our lieutenant governor it is to be able to step in if anything can happen to the governor. for the past eight years, i've had the opportunity and privilege to work with the governor to understand the complexities and the relationships that make up our state government. i have learned about the 18 departments we have, and the
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challenges and the goals they have. i have learned how to work with the legislature. most important, i have learned what it is to balance the state budget. when we first got elected in 2002, we were in the hole about $250 million. a year later, we turned that around. in 2008 and 2009, we saw the greatest economic challenge this state has ever faced. i lived and worked for that, and helped the governor. there is one thing for certain -- this was his administration. the bottom line is this -- for any of you that our number two, if you want to be number one, you will not be number two long. it is a team effort. aloha. >> thank you. neil abercrombie, your opening statement. >> thank you.
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thanks to the economic development board. what a pleasure it is to be here on maui with you. we began our campaign months ago. no i realize, although it seems almost like a kaleidoscope camino. we began here on maui saying that we thought the nomination for the democratic governorship would be one on the islands. we wanted to see the islands connected by water, not separated by water. we wanted to have referendum on leadership. that is what the conversation was going to be about. what direction did you want to go and? the change that i felt was necessary and was reflected in that conversation across the state has been manifest in get the primaries that we have had and now as we come into the homestretch.
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if we really want energy independence, if we really want environmental sustainability, if we wanted to turn the corner on agriculture and have a renaissance in agriculture, grow our own food, become self- sufficient, to sustain ourselves, if we want to do more than just import real-estate speculators and export our -- then we have to have a change in direction. it cannot be business as usual. it cannot be politics as youn as well. no, this campaign is not about me or the lieutenant governor. this is about the future of these islands and our people. this is a referendum on leadership. this is an opportunity to have a new sense of hope and change, a new day in hawaii. >> we now move to the categories >> we now move to the categories outlined

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