congressional races with john mcardle. . . this campaign season and why? we will get to your calls in just a second. final polling information is out

in the papers. here is "usa today." there paul has the gop in the lead in the final run up. not a terrible surprise based on all of the news. the fact that new health care and stimulus laws are vital. they write that 55% to 40%, in this poll by usa today and gallup, say they intend to vote for the republican. the widest margin since the democrats' advantage in the 1974 elections held in the wake of watergate. what they do in the poll is go down and talks about the signs of showdown ahead according to the folks that they talk to, about 1500 likely voters.

texas, our first call this morning. craig, independent caller. who has impressed you most? caller: jon stewart. his rally and a comment on the closing expresses my views and feelings. host: what did he say that appeals to you the most? caller about -- well, we're not hitler or this or that, we are a bunch of americans and we do work together and we do run this country. quit letting the talking heads divide us. and get back to being americans.

i thought between his closing speech and the signs that the average everyday americans created in this weekend's -- i started laughing at the signs. i thought they were great. host: of course he speaks of lot about the media. what grade would you give the rest of the media this year? caller: you don't really want to know that. [laughter] the only two people i listen to really is bbc and seasick -- c- span. i get more information from them in one day than i get from the rest of the media in a week. host: one more question. you are calling on the independent line. how long have you been an independent and what puts you in that position? caller: back in the 1970's when a certain president exited stage last. a very well-known vice-president took over and he did the hard

thing and he did the right thing. and in doing so he sealed his fate. talking about president gerald ford. he was one heck of an american. and i was not happy with the republican party at that time for some of their actions, so i decided to go independent and when i say independent, i truly an independent. host: it has been a while for him since he became an independent. cleveland, ohio. the site of one of the president's visit spirit herald, a republican. who impressed the the most? caller: the person who impressed me most is marco rubio in florida. because, one, he really articulates the conservative message in a very appealing and attractive way. also, he had to contend with not

just running against the democrats but running against a rino as well in gov. crist, and he got a nice lead. his message has made it through. i want to make a quick prediction real quick for 2012 presidential election. the winning ticket for the republicans that would keep the men that were for it least 16 years president chris christie, governor of new jersey, and vice president marco rubio of. christie/rubio ticket would keep the republicans in power for 16 years. thank you very much. host: let us go to the line for democrats. gettysburg, pennsylvania. we heard from an independent and republican. who has impressed you the most this year? caller: the person that has impressed me the most is the senate majority leader harry reid. host: how come?

caller: he had a great deal to contend with with respect to the many distortion of his opponents. i feel that mr. reid is an extraordinary legislator in the senate. maybe not a particularly articulate individual. he has kept cool, he has been respectful and i believe he will win. i also wanted to say that this is such an extraordinary country in which we live. and even though we may not agree -- agree, we must remain civil. i wanted to comment on a particular dvd called, home, america, we love you. by the correct -- current william baker.

these are opportunities for us to come together as a people. i believe in mr. reid. i have great respect for him. host: that was betty from gettysburg, pennsylvania. if you look at "the wall street journal" the day before the big midterm election you will see their final polling information. nbc news-wall street journal poll. republicans held a six-point edge when likely voters were asked which party they hoped would be in charge. they also have a major chart on the messages that folks will be sending to congress -- among democrats, 36% city economy and jobs. independents, 45%. republicans, 38%. returning to the principles of the constitution. republicans, 41%. independences, 22. democrats, 8%.

work with the other party. democrats, 27% say that should be the plan. 26 percent of independents say it and 18% say they should work with the other party on the gop side. lydia, independent. caller: i would say sarah palin not for a good reason. impressive in her strategy. 2005 ordaz lynsey basically decided -- 2005 when she basically decided to register. going for the jugular style. not so sure she is not being paid. at this point we need a historical bifocal. the game plan republicans

decided upon as the first step of the downfall of the civilization. barbarians, that is why am concerned about. i picked up a magazine ad myers grocery store and it was stand as vampires -- what was the magazine about? 100% sarah palin. the vampires scant three times what the bar code and was surprising not just the clerk and store manager -- that needs to be asked about, what is she doing? if she strategizing for a possible run for president? is there something more to this vampire strategy? she needs to have a little more information and she cannot run away from her press because our influence is so profound. host: plenty of time for your calls on who has impressed you the most.

we have several short clips from folks around the country over the weekend. since that last caller mentioned sarah palin, she turned up in west virginia over the weekend. here is a look at what she had to say. >> both parties now -- the machines of both parties are having to rethink the way they have been doing business, and knowing that they are going to be held accountable now because of tea party americans saying enough is enough, no more status quo, no more business as usual in washington d.c. our nation's capital will be turned around. it will be shaken up and we will do that by changing will leadership in washington. we do that by electric -- electing john raese to put government back on your side. what he and what other tea party american candidates are standing for is opportunity in this country to get back to work. it is not a matter of government

needing to grow and be the big daddy answer to all our challenges, not at all. like reagan used to say -- government is not the solution, too often government is the problem. host: sarah palin in west virginia over the weekend for the republican candidate. there is a short snippet on the west virginia race from "the washington post" over the weekend. replacing byrd not as easy as it once looked. the governor joe manchin is enormously popular -- ambler, pennsylvania. jim on the republican line.

who oppressed -- impressed be the most this year and why? caller: i would say marco rubio. before i make my point, i want to i wantst -- when it to say about stewart, keep in mind, there are canadians and actors and remember a year two ago and there was a writer's strike and unlike rush limbaugh and others to speak from the heart and hours on end without a teleprompter, stewart and colbert went off the air, could not function about their riders to make them look weak and the cutting edge. they were on it reruns' for half of year. there is unfortunate -- that is important to understand. i am amazed democrats, especially black people, don't see what is going on of the lord. the only black guy -- bible black eye in -- biblemeek, and a hispanic, marco rubio, and the arctic and the side of charlie

crist today are terrified of marco rubio because he is a charismatic hispanic food is not believe an amnesty. i think the person at least impresses me in this campaign season is obama. whenever he is off the teleprompter, he is like a man of the medication. his radical side comes out and he speaks about punishing your enemies, which is an amazing statements -- statement for a president about race. and in his book, one thing he gravitated so much, the last thing on that list was chicano separatist spirit that menla rasa and all the groups that are radical and pushing toward -- railing against the concept of assimilation. it is the conservatives who believe in the immigrant and assimilation, let more rubio

believes that, like the cuban people and parker rican people have been great as -- at assimilating. the president suing the state of arizona, a sovereign state when he was sworn by the constitution to defend individual states from invasion. it is an amazing thing. host: marco rubio, the upstart. is the headline of the special election preview. if you look at "the miami herald," one of their lead items talks about leadmeek -- talk about kendrick meek. he vowed to press on it as he visited his hometown church, there with his 84-year-old mother.

ohio, julie, a democrat. who has impressed you the most and why? hello, julie. caller: i am and press more what the democrat side. i pay attention to both the democrat and the republican side. now that the tea party has become involved i have also paid attention to their participation. and i understand their meaning behind their movement but i do not understand how the tea party can be against government takeover, big money, big corporations, when they are actually being backed by all of the big money and they feel that they want to go in and change the republican party and the democrat party and bring the country back to the way it was before. but i think they are being conned in this game that the big money people are playing and i don't think i understand that

when they also get into congress they will be controlled by that money and they will do what they tell them to do. host: cadillac, michigan. marlene, independence. caller: i really enjoyed it joe biden, our vice president. he is so distinguished, he holds his head high and he does things that makes our country look well. he is a good family man, which is what america looks up to. and the other person is c-span. i just enjoyed c-span so much this season. i did not watch it before but you people there are so fair and you discuss both sides of the coin so that the voter gets a true impression of what is going on and how they're both should go. i have not been real happy --

the gop is going to probably take over some of the congress because i really feel the incumbents' should all be taken out. i have a real problem with -- we had $750 billion that was not budgeted and the gop never said anything and i wondered where that money came from for the war. and also when the guys all came home -- i happen to be up in the middle of night and saw them came home and it was the most beautiful thing i could see. it was only on once and the mosque came on for two weeks. i said i was going to go back to c-span. they are fair, they talk about everything that is important and you get a true picture of what is going on. host: we appreciate you watching the network. the caller mentioned joe biden as well. he campaigned in ohio.

here is a short piece. >> all we need now is to keep this moment going and there is only one way to do this -- you are the same faults that made sure barack obama and i get to be on this stage today. this same thing you did for us. go out to your neighbors, send e-mail, make phone calls, not on doors, make sure you give folks a ride to the polls on tuesday because i tell you one thing, if john k. sick were to win this, i promise to the governor's mansion will be a different place -- if john kasich when is this. this momentum will come to a screeching halt. kasich and rob portman what to do what they have always done. they have a whole different view of how we'll folks live.

host: the vice-president in ohio. the front-page of "the new york times" shows john boehner, the man who would be speaker if republicans win. a shot of him in ohio for congressional candidates there. and even as we showed you on c- span. above that total is president obama. the cut says -- "pulling out the stops." jennifer, republican. who has impressed the the most this year? caller: i would definitely say chris christie and marco rubio. host: tell us why. caller: marco rubio all, he is so particulates, he is -- he says what he means, he means what is says. it it sounds like he is going to stay strong in what ever it is he believes and i believe he does want to get the government back to a smaller

constitutional, and stop the waste and fraud and corruption in washington which we see all over since democrats -- and republicans, too -- but since democrats took over mainly in 2006. he is very intelligent and articulate and he really drives his point across. host: let us stay in florida for a minute. "the new york times" has this piece out of miami.

"the new york times" there. bethlehem, pennsylvania. democrat, this morning. caller: i am impressed by mitch mcconnell even though in a negative way. he was able to convince this country that 40 people should have more power than 60 in the senate, which proves we have no democratic government at all. 41 people could overrule 59 day after day. a record number of filibusters' to ruin everything that we voted for in the last election. somehow it becomes the democrats' fault.

when in the world did a filibuster become -- we just have to say we will filibuster and that is the end. they could not possibly filibuster 300 times if they had to do a filibuster, which is outlined in our history. it is just outrageous what they have done getting away with this misinformation that the democrats didn't do what they set out to do. they could not do it. host: move this fall -- most of the pundits and pollsters say republicans will pick up quite a few more seats. perhaps not a majority, but quite a few more. what does it mean? caller: it means they got away with the misinformation campaign like ever before. when you have a man running the senate who is winning -- willing to say president obama will have death penalty -- panels to decide whether senior citizens get medical care, to get away with that statement, those people should be jailed for that.

host: kurt, line from north carolina. independenct. caller: i love c-span. first-time caller. i think everybody needs to get real. right now it would be our god, the creator of everything because without him we would have no money, nobody would have all of this money to throw around. and the thing we should all get back to what it says on our money, in god we trust. thank you, and have a blessed day, everybody, god bless america. host: more from "the new york times" the white house prepared for widespread losses on tuesday. it saw to minimize the the local damage to the party and mr. obama's reluctant chances by urging supporters to work even harder to how narrow the gap in tight races.

robertville, maryland. caller: the person who impressed me in the most this election season has actually been a local candidate. who did a lot of door to door knocking and calling and talking to people paired her name is karen montgomery. she was running for state senate. she won the democratic primary. she just reminded me a lot of

lawton chiles back when i was very young, down in florida, and i remember how he won his first statewide race by literally walking the length of the states of florida. i think that is very important. i like to see people to actually, and reach out to people personally. i also have something i wanted to mention. you had a caller who mentioned that john stuart -- jon stewart's writers' strike, but before they were hosts of the shows they were also writers and they chose to support the strike and to support their workers. it was not a matter of incompetence on their part but rather a matter of principle to support what they had been then sells a couple of years before. host: thank you. that is kay from -- rockville,

maryland. we do want to take a step back and get a preview of an argument taking place in san francisco. usa v state of arizona. the headline says arizona's emigration law goes before u.s. appeals court. this event we are covering alive today at noon, and little bit later, on c-span. tell us the background. what will we be looking at and how do we get to this point? decode the justice department sued arizona -- lined guest: the justice department sued arizona over the immigration law because a lot of civil rights groups

feel the targets hispanics. doj filed a lawsuit, trying to overturn it and declared it unconstitutional and the government won the first round in the same month of july when a district judge in phoenix put on hold some of the most controversial provisions while the lawsuit proceed. i can tell you what those are, but in the meantime what the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco will be hearing today is simply a result of's appeal of this injunction. it is not yet the issue of the merits of the law itself but whether this injunction stopping the most contested provisions of the law will stay in effect or be overturned. host: when will the next phase happen? guest: probably will play out over the next couple of years. this three-judge panel will make a decision to add some point. it could be eight weeks, a couple of months.

the losing side could appeal it to the full ninth circuit. they could try to go to the supreme court on the injunction issued, whenever side loses. on likely the supreme court will hear it at this early stage. inevitably it will go back to the court in phoenix for a tryout. -- trial. that will play out over the next probably six to nine months, perhaps a year. and very likely will start the appellate process again and go back up the chain and at that point the judge will rule on the merits, constitutionality of the law. at that point legal experts believe it would reach the supreme court, which probably would not be for a couple of years. host: remind us of the broader implications? guest: talking about illegal immigration which is obviously a very divisive issue.

it has some political communicate -- implications. when the law was filed people thought this would play a major role in the midterm elections. it has to some degree. some races like harry reid and sharron angle in nevada, immigration has been a key issue and some of the border states. if that caught on nationally -- put it this way, it has receded and little bit in light of the economy. but it is a major issue bobbling, and the bus service, both politically and for legal reasons. you can see that in the degree to which outside groups and citizens filed what is called friend-of-the-court briefs in this case. there were several dozen, more than 70 republican members of congress took it upon themselves in support of arizona. the government of mexico, a sovereign country, filed a brief

on behalf of doj, a kind of unusual. that gives us an idea of what the stakes are. host: here is the headline -- thank you for the preview today. oral argument in usa versus state of arizona. noon until 1:00 eastern time here on c-span. at the next call on who has impressed you the most this campaign season. michael, thank you for waiting. caller: good morning and god bless c-span. thank you. what most impressed me is president obama. host: how come? caller: he never stops campaign mode. he has been in election mode for three and a half years. on stage reading teleprompter is until he gets upset and then he makes a but of themselves -- butt of himself.

thank you for c-span. host: ken, democrat. caller: the person i most admire is president obama and four of the haters, nancy pelosi and mr. reid. i think with the situation for president obama, i hear sarah palin who was on fox news saying what he has not gotten done in two years and years she decides to quit her post after two years. it is totally ridiculous. i think that a lot of these so- called tea party people, i would never ever vote for a representative or a senator who could not stand up and actually do an interview from the top of their head. you got sharron angle running. you have most of these people not doing interviews or taking questions. if they want to get into the government, they have not told us much about them. i heard comments about marker

rubio, whereas, he may be an attractive candidate -- margo rubio, but there is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that people cannot know about -- marco rubio. i will go back to what i said earlier, i think president obama has done the best job he could do. you had the war off the books and so many things. he put that on and that is what makes the spending look a little bit worse. but those things were not done prior to him. if i had to say who i admire the most, it would be our president barack obama, plus they are trying to make a scary person out of reid and pelosi -- always reid, pelosi, obama, just have a bogeyman but these people who are going in, a tea party candidate, trust me, they are not the ones that i will look for any kind of leadership. host: more from the papers

across the country. of the front page of the "los angeles times." they show meg whitman and -- the gop hopeful to the left. her opponent, jerry brown, just below. senator barbara boxer running for reelection against carly fiorina on the republican side. stimulus failed to motivate voters. that is the headline. many don't see the effects. this is "the denver post" frontpage, recount looms large. the polling is the closest in the nation. colorado officials brace for post-election possibilities. forecasting this contest as the closest in the nation. voters are slowly realizing a daunting possibility --

we will see what happens there in colorado and what it means. "atlanta journal constitution" has a tea party story. as voters had two goals and metro atlanta and across the nation they won't be alone -- as voters had it to the polls and -- in metro a land and across the nation that won't be alone. vidalia, georgia. clifford, a republican. good morning. who has impressed you most? caller: republicans. host: anyone in particular? caller: newt gingrich. host: what has he said or done? caller: he tells the facts, he tells the truth. i think he needs to be the next president. host: simply put by clifford, and david now from macon, georgia, independent line.

good morning. caller: the personal impressed me the most is president obama because he came right out and said it, you are the enemy if you are against immigration. agassi was probably referring to everything -- i guess he was probably referring to everything, anyone who is against them, the enemy. i guess it is about 7% of the american people would be his enemy, t-72% of the american people would be his enemy. i am and pressed by his arrogance because no matter what happens it does not faze him. i do not think it is an act. i thing he really believes. he is a true believer. host: lexington, ky. jamie, democrat. caller: i have to agree what the caller from pennsylvania. president barack obama has and pressed me the most.

given the situation we were in prior to being sworn into office, 4 million people had already lost their jobs and the rate of unemployment was gaining. and how there is a slow stop. we got a long way to go and i don't think unemployment will be gained full -- will be gained significantly for another year or so. it is -- so, he has impressed me, listening to the people about getting the lobbyists and politicians being paid for, he is trying his best to do that through legislation. and i hope that the american people really do their research on the candidates and who is behind the campaigning and all

because the money that is in the campaigns this year -- i am fearful of it, what it will do to our democracy. thank you so much and you have a great day. host: you, too. "usa today" in the forum section. why you should vote for the democrats or republicans. the current majority leader and minority leader of the house of representatives, steady hoyer says first and "usa today." moving forward with democratic policies to create jobs and rebuild a strong middle-class. that is the democrat from maryland. on the other side, for the republicans, john boehner says, where are the jobs? it is the questions americans still asking more than 20 months

after the stimulus bill and it promises it would create jobs immediately and keep unemployment below 8%. john boehner in ohio over the weekend at an event we covered. he was campaigning for one of the congressional candidates. here is a short piece on that. them and you all know that the bigger the government gets, -- >> and you all know the bigger the government gets, the smaller the people get. the more the government takes from you the less you have to invest in yourself, family, business and community. and it is time that we tell washington, it is time for them to get their hands off of the goose laying the golden egg. if you are tired of all the nonsense, duplicity, all the double talk, then you better elected bill johnson to the united states congress. [applause]

if you want to send nancy pelosi packing her bags back to san francisco, elect bill johnson. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, remember one thing, we live in america. you really can grow up and be everything you want to be or anything that you want to be. but all of you in this crowd know that if we don't turn this country around, the future for our kids and grandkids is not going to be as bright. we want to bring hope back to america. the way to do that is to fight for a smaller, less costly, and more accountable government in washington. the way we do that is we elect bill johnson and send charlie will send back to do you worry he is, from his district.

as " scott rasmussen rights in "the wall street journal" today is a vote against dems not for the gop. we project nancy pelosi's party will likely lose 55 or more seats in the house. putting the gop firmly in the majority. republicans will win at least 25 of the 37 senate elections. the most likely outcome is republicans will end up with 48 of 49 senate seats. democrats will need to win close races in west virginia, washington, and california to protect a majority.

miami, florida. caller it dalia. i am a cuban-american and i am proud as a marker rubio. he is a fresh, young face who is a very articulate, who knows what it is like to lose your country because of his background. he knows about socialism and that it doesn't work. and the reason these democrats are going to lose this time is because they became arrogant, they decided what was good for us. they didn't care at the opinion of the people. that is why they are going down. and so is mr. obama.

this is not a socialist country. and they should all be aware what it is like to be in a socialist country. i love my homeland, and i don't want to -- my grandchildren to lose it. host: democrat, who has impressed you most? caller: two people who impressed me. one is a national person and the other is a local candidate. i will start with the local candidate. i live in carroll county, maryland, which went for mccain in 2008 but we do have an active democratic citizens here. kimberly macal is running for commissioner and i believe she was inspired by obama's campaign. she is a young african-american woman who is bringing fresh ideas and a fresh perspective. she is attracting across party

lines, people in her camp are from both republicans and democratic side and she has been endorsed by the local republican paper. all politics to me is local. it is not necessarily your party affiliation but what people feel you will do for them. on a national scale i must say michelle obama to me has been fantastic. she is the wife of the president. i am so glad she is there as his soul mates and a companion and his wife to help him through this very difficult time. they truly seemed to be a degenerate -- jenny went coupled with their family and children. -- they truly seem to be a genuine the couple with their family and children. what she is doing what nutrition is wonderful. host: we have plenty more time for your calls. we will bring our first guest and a couple of minutes. but in case you have not heard, ted sorenson had died.

"the new york times" has this below the fold. one of the last links to jfk's administration -- here is a short clip from ted sorensen and october of 2009 at harvard where he talks about advising the president. >> i would give to anyone who is entering upon the job of advising the president, is to be careful. [laughter] working for a united states senator or working for a candidate is completely different. a senator or a candidates -- or

a candidate when a grave national problem that arises, it is enough to raise tough questions, it is enough to call for investigations. president cannot do that. a president has to come up with solutions. he has to run the show. and the advisor better have some solutions to offer the present impaired -- presidents. second, if you are writing for the president, be careful. what the president says on domestic policy will be debated. it might much later become law. but the congress has to provide authorization and then on provide money. but what the president says on the foreign-policy, that becomes the foreign-policy of the united states.

host: he once said he suspected his headline on his of its wary would read, kennedy speechwriter, misspelling his name, and misjudging his work, but he was much more. ted sorensen died in new york, 82 years old. kennedy words with and more -- wordsmith and more. we will be back -- progressives and this campaign. karen white is director of the national education association. >> c-span's local content of vehicles are travelling the

country visiting congressional districts to look at the most closely contested house races in this year's midterm elections. >> the one thing about this race and some others in pennsylvania as pennsylvania having an earlier general election which sometimes can set the pace. for both sides of the aisle, republican pundits are saying that will take that house, and pennsylvania would be the first that towards that. if the democrats across pennsylvania have a strong showing it could mean they are going to retain the house. i think after our election on november 2 you will hear a lot of analysts say we thought this but this is what happened in pennsylvania, especially 12th district. the candidates running, current u.s. representative marked critt -- mark critt when a special election and the republican tim burke.

>> initially i was thrilled because and my campaign i talk about closing the tax loopholes that allow companies to benefit from shipping jobs overseas. i voted to close that loophole. i am happy to say that i sponsored and supported a bill, that we are going after china for manipulating their currencies. >> the united states as the second-highest corporate income tax in the world. if you are going to move into a new community and you know if you live on first street you pay 1 percent taxes and on 30 of street, you pay a 30% taxes. the same with multinational corporations. we have the second highest -- >> i think we had been well represented by mr. murtha for 30 years. mark and continue that. i want a congressman that

represents us, not third-party interests and global business for outsourcing. >> obviously i think tim burns was the victor by far tonight because he had a little bit better year. he is a person who started a small business in his basement, became a millionaire. he has common sense, which is lacking greatly in d.c. he has a hold of the business needs we have. he is a family guy. i like to hear that. on the other side are heard a lot of the old government rhetoric that comes out all the time, and it is exactly what i expected. what i am finding is all of my neighbors are totally tired of it. >> i worked with congressman jack murtha for 10 years on his official staff and ended up as his district director and when he passed away and misses murtha decided not to run for

the open seat i really had sort of an epiphany or a watershed moment where i felt i really had to do this. so i started to run. i ran and special election. announced on february 22, won the second on may 18. sworn in may 20 and then running again for a full term. >> congressman crtiz -- when interviewed him he tells me it was john murtha's would have who encouraged him to go out and seek the seat and run and a special election which he ultimately won. tim burns started in the race about a year and a half ago when john murtha was still running. he is a businessman. he started a pharmaceutical software business and his basement and grow to, i think, 400 employees. and a lot of interviews, he said he decided to enter this race because he was upset with the direction the country was going at a wanted to be able to tell

his two young sons that it did whatever he could to change the direction. >> when you look at the poll numbers and you take a long hard felt look up with the popularity is of congress, the president, really, we're no different than anyone else. that is the beauty of the tea party. it is not an elitist club. everyone is welcome. we just have everyone come together and we did not preach to the choir. people say what is our opinion of washington -- no different from anyone else watching right now. then i have no problem with washington. eli >> i have no problem with washington but i don't have issues to debate. i would just like to see things progress and have our voices heard and that money comes in and that our children get educated and the people get health care. >> i did not want to talk about washington, d.c., but washington, pennsylvania.

i said i have not taken a day of cents i started to run it is because it is so important. i have done six telephone town halls. six public town halls. i don't work for the white house. i don't work for nancy pelosi. i work for you and i want to continue doing it. >> this -- if you think this administration is taking this country in the right direction, he is your guy because he voted with the 97 percent of the time. if you believe that what we can do better, do you believe that you want somebody to fight for what you know is right, if you want someone who will fight for you, then i would ask for your support on november 2. then a leading up to the november 2 midterm elections, we are travelling the country and visiting congressional different -- districts. for more information on what the local content vehicles are up to

it, visit our website, c- span.org/lcv. >> "washington journal" continues. host: more about the campaign with karen white, political director of the national education association. first off, what is the main goal of the nea this election? guest: we want to see educators involved, who know how critical it is for us to work with lawmakers to make sure there is a great public school for every student, getting them involved and at every level. host: are dissatisfied education and talked enough? guest: i think it has been. the president has talked about it, made huge distort investment. it has been a domestic priority. you see it happening at levels across the country. patty murray talking about it, you hear about it in north carolina and arizona and especially gubernatorial level. host: are there good ideas on the other side, republican side? guest: there are ideas, i would say those for sure.

one of the scary ideas we heard a little bit of rhetoric is about -- abolishing department of education. i don't think he did realize what that would do, cutting programs for students with disabilities, cutting after- school programs, the kinds of things are kids need in the classroom. host: fall numbers at the bottom of the screen for karen white from the nba -- nea. of the phone numbers -- we do want to talk money, of course, and lay out some of the figures of the nea has put out. a $5.2 million by one count so far spent on campaign 2010. let us go through some of the figures but colorado senate race, $1.4 million. from house races, arizona's

fifth district, 650,000. roughly 650,000 more on north carolina's eighth district. ohio, 550,000. pennsylvania senate race, half a million dollars as well. what are you hoping to get? guest: we are supporting people who support public education and student. anyone who has a record of accomplishment in working with educators and community to make sure we make every school grade, we want to make sure we send them back to washington. host: the poll figures suggest a changeover in the house and certainly a tightening in the senate with more republican seats. move us forward beyond the election to what it means the education agenda. caller: -- guest: we will wake up on wednesday and there will still be children in the classroom needing to learn. they will need the teachers and funding. whether it is democrat, republican, independent, nea stand ready to work with the weather is in congress. we are a bipartisan

administration and we work with whoever supports students and education. host: what will your priorities be? how will you speak to republicans? guest: the same way we have for decades. everybody cares for students and everyone will understand that education is inextricably linked to the economy will work with us. kids are in school today and it will be in school in january when the new congress comes in and they don't really care who is in congress as long as they make sure folks will pay attention to public education. host: the calls are coming in but before we get into that let us go to the money a little bit more. $5.2 million. again, you could see the various races the nea has invested in. how does money like that expense? guest: we focus on a member program. in and non-presidential year the campaigns are members is important. nea members are more active and registered and it typically turn out at 30% higher than the general public. they are engaged and they

deliver. also focus on independent expenditures. people will be champions for public education and return them to washington. host: iowa, clearance, republican. good morning. caller: i do appreciate c-span. you guys do a good job. two things. i taught for five years in oklahoma and texas and never joined the union. i just felt it was one-sided. the democrats only. i think if you will look at the school system to run the country that are really weak -- the inner cities like detroit, chicago -- and i have been to those school systems in another occupation i had, and they are just horrible. and continue to do the same thing over and over to support the nea. i think it is a bad choice. the comment i have is the only way you would change education or make a better and improve it and get back to where it used to be, do have to get the police

officers out of the school system. what would you do about giving principals and superintendents back the powers of bacon control the kids? guest: thank you for the call and more importantly, thank you for dedication to students. it is an admirable profession and would thank you for your service to students. the nea is bipartisan. this year we have supported several republicans as well as democrats and independents. lisa murkowski running as a write-in candidate, she has been a champion of rural education and the time she has been in the senate and she has been a key champion for educators and we will continue to work with republicans and independents and democrats alike. host: what other republicans have you supported and why, what were their ideas? guest: their idea is supported public education. rural education act, support of students with disabilities.

anything that would affect kids in the classroom. frankly, there's a part of educators as well. it -- biggert in illinois, several current members of congress and pennsylvania. . 8 -- washington 8. we will support anyone who supports kids and students. host: what do you make of the last caller who said he is a teacher and did not join the union? guest: the union is there for a reason and everyone has the option to join. caller: good morning. i have a couple of things. i was really very concerned at this midterm election with education and also of their areas like hospital nurses, police, firemen. these organizations need to be more involved with what is happening with our politics and government. you mentioned education. what about the kids that are not being educated? being educated? last night we