saying how effective it was going to be. >> i think it is a significant policy. it puts an end to the system we inherited from labor where if you are a poor child in school in one part of the country, yet extra money allocated to your education, but not if you are a poor child in another part of the country. this is attached to children from poor backgrounds wherever they live to lift their aspirations and approve the support they need to be able to get the fair chance in life that all children deserve in our country. the the >> 100,000 tenants are paying less -- are paying rent.

53% of those tenants are receiving benefits. what should the government do to cut down on private landlords? >> i strongly agree that we should come down very hard on those unscrupulous landlords who are profiteering from the housing benefit system. he will note the rents in the private sector declined by 5% last year. that is why we need to bring some sense and proportion to the way in which we administer the housing situation. >> as week when house of commons is in session, with your questions live on c-span2. wednesday at 7:00 a.m. eastern and again on sunday on c-span at

9:00 p.m. eastern. >> next, james carville and mary matalin talk about the future of bipartisanship. then the discussion of the impact of the tea party of the one of the 12th congress. after that, a look at the future of u.s. health care. monday, a health ethics subcommittee holds a hearing to determine whether any of the 13 counts against new york congressman charles rangel had been approved by clear and convincing evidence. the hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. we'll have live coverage on c- span3. >> pcs and networks. we provide coverage of public affairs, and nonfiction books, and american history. it is available to you on

television, radio, online, and social media networking sites. we take c-span on the road with our digital bus. bring our resources to your community, at his washington your way. pcs and networks. created by cable, provided as a public service. >> this year stood audent cam video competition is under way. of lord your video to c-span before the deadline of january 20 for your chance to win the grand prize of $5,000. for all the rules and how to load your bdo, go on line at studentcam.org. >> also, remarks from republican

strategists. this is about one hour. >> good morning, everybody. good morning. thank you for your attention to it in michael bernstein, i am a professor of economics and the university provost europe tulane university. on behalf of scott callahan and the board of trustees of tulane university and all of the faculty, students and staff here at tulane, i welcome you to this very exciting events put together by the bipartisan policy center. we have a marvelous day during which we will have an array of very interesting panels to talk about the state of political debate and policy discussion and analysis here in the united states. i have to say, when i reflect on how a member of congress shouted at the president of united states during the state of the

union address, calling him a liar, making him seem like it was the house of commons in britain, not the united states congress. i reflect just last week an individual that lost a gubernatorial race, in this case in new york, showed up in his concession speech brandishing a baseball bat. i am struck by the need for paying some attention to the nature of discourse and debate in the united states about present policy concerns. for those specific reasons and for more general reasons of which we are all acquainted, it is especially a pleasure for tulane university to welcome this distinguished panel and to join with the bipartisan policy center in having this day's events devoted to pursuit of

inspired and sustained policy debate in contemporary american politics. here in new orleans and here at the university, we have spent five years and we will spend several more years focused on practical solutions for pressing problems. we make claims about ideological convictions, but five years down from katrina, we are all about solutions. it is a great pleasure to welcome all of you and to welcome our kickoff panelists here to this very important set of events to discuss contemporary politics. i just want to close my remarks by expressing a very special thanks to two very special people.

they have made this event possible. [applause] thank you very much. enjoy the panels today. welcome. >> nice room for 10:00 a.m. in the morning did i am the president of the bipartisan center and i want to add a few thoughts. of what to think michael bernstein and the tulane committee for opening their doors and being our partners to put on this second event of what we hope will be a long tradition. the bipartisan policy center was founded in 2007 by four former senate majority leaders. they have the goal of assisting our national leaders in developing substantive and possible compromises to adjust our nation's problems.

we do not seek to be non- partisan. we do not seek to find it comfortable middle and all issues. rather, we try to bring together principal democrats and republicans to see if we can compromise. it is really thrilling to bring together this group back to new orleans. this city, more than any other, knows the value of politics. also, the critical opportunity an obligation to overcome politics to face real challenges and to work together as a community. many of those moments have been driven by crisis. it is argued that the nation is in a similar state of crisis. a less visible crisis, but one that is no less dire. the question that we are all asking ourselves is do we have a

structure capable of confronting those problems. one issue we are most concerned about is our 14 trillion dollars national debt -- 4 $2 trillion national debt. -- $14 trillion national debt. we do this with the goal of bringing the adult a arithmetic to that challenge. we hope to have a percolation forming around that. a couple of words about this event. we had no anticipation that we would have a detailed census since -- consensus. we bring together the kind of dialogue that will enable the country to deal with these problems. we are not my you about this. we will hear that the conditions out there are tough. but there are some creative ideas, one which i read about a few days ago which i think is quite interesting, which is a

notion that president obama should take up smoking again. [laughter] because he and john maynard -- john boehner would share something. it is that kind of creative aspiration that i think that we all need. to follow up on provost bernstein's comments. james and mary bring together and affection for challenges. i think that is more important than they know. the examples of that kind of icon by partisanship are few and far between. we're lucky to have them. i would like to welcome james and mary. thank them for their assistance and hear their words.

[applause] >> the james got all dressed up for you this morning. [laughter] good morning. my job this morning is to say good morning and to thank you for coming. welcome home walter and bud. welcome back to those that were here last year and those that are here for the first year, hopefully this will not be your last year. thank you, thank you, thank you. it is no secret that we are the bipartisan co-host's. there is nothing wrong -- we were talking about this last night -- about being a principal part of some. a proud principal partisan. we have all known each other for

a combined 1000 years. i do not think that any of us ever came close to this. that does not count. the kind of emotion that lends itself to but partisan politics is because we love our country. there will be a some sniffing and snorting around, but it will get done because we all of this country just like we all of this city. we got through an amazing and miraculous election cycle of with great civility and great compassion. they could be breaking the stalemate and getting a good start here today. this would be the first time ever that analysts, strategists, presidential advisers and the

resurgent republicans get together for the first time. that is a good start to bipartisanship. i once said to james that the passion that undergirds these kinds of things, fighting is ok. just silly -- just civilly. >> i td the audience that she looked beautiful. she was in an oscar de la renta and i was in that oscar de la rental. i'd like to thank all of you here in what a delight it is to

be here. a lot of you look at my shirt did this is a crawfish. i wear this to promote louisiana seafood, the safest food in the world. [applause] just a word about our city. in every other city in america, people speak of the quality of life and they sort of take the number of libraries and the symphony and the climb at and say that it is a quality of life index. hear, -- right here, we speak of a way of life. when you are down here, please enjoy our way of life. our way of life is about food, our music, and architecture,

our literature, and even our funerals are different. [laughter] we are very comfortable and proud. we are just delighted to be apart to be a part of a tradition of hospitality. that is our goal l we are here. we appreciate it. this is the second year and this will be one of the really great traditions that started here in new orleans. i think he will continue here. this is a wonderful time of year to have everybody. if anyone is familiar with political consultants, this is probably the most prestigious panel that has been put together. i am not exaggerating.

the party has been run for a long time. if there has ever been a thing such as a political consultant, these would be the regional inductees. you're looking at the equivalent of babe ruth, ty cobb and thomas wagner. ed gillespie called me during october and approached me with the idea. me being a huckster, i said sure if it is in your lungs. -- in new orleans. ed was the chief of staff for

bush 20 -- was 43 -- bush 43. he is one of the top hams and political consulting and this area. my friend for the past 17 years, stan greenberg, i cannot remember if he has a ph.d. from harvard or yale. i think it is a ph.d. from harvard and he taught at yale. he is another result and that the a political consultant holophane. they took a pull together. they cannot agree on the

results. what i am born to do is start -- one in one to do is start with ed and have him tell us what he saw in this poll. i do not think this group meets a moderator. you guys can jump in and began to discuss and give everybody a chance to be heard. your want to hear some interesting data. my first take was things that i expected to see and things i did not expect to see. ed, we will start with you. >> mary, james, thank you for sponsoring mr. it thank you to tulane. there should be a fascinating day stan and i worked together on a questionnaire and james, you might be surprised on how

much we agree on. we agree on a lot that happened. we have our own perspectives on what happened. we only have time to touch on a few highlights and if you take away messages, but all of the numbers are online at research andrepublic.com. you will see a presentation based on the results. all of the data is available for those of you that want to dig deeper than what we are and to have a chance to do. at republicurgenc .com. this is a survey we took of 1000 people.

we had 114 who voted in 2008, but not 2010. we can kind of simulate what a broader electorate would look like with more minorities and more younger people heading into a 2012 election. i am going to say a few words about the political issues and stan will talk about more about what people are looking for going forward. we're going to give you a lot of data. it is very easy, sometimes. i want to point out what the forest looks like so you have a few key points in your head when you walk out of this room today. the first key point comes from this graph of independent voter preferences going back to 1998. the red line are independents that voted for republican congressional candidates. the blue line are independent voters that voted for democratic congressional candidates.

the wave last tuesday was driven by independence. republicans constituted 36% of the voters according to exit polls last tuesday. do you know what the constitution in 2006 when the democrats had their huge wave? 36% of the electorate. they have been exactly the same portion of the electorate in 2006. and what changed was the independent vote. in 1998, republicans were three points ahead of the independence. in 2000, it was two points. in 2004, it was no surprise that we had a time of political stability because the independence split evenly. in 2006, there was a huge swing,

like 57 to 39. it was driven by iraq and a lot of other concerns as well. a huge wave among independents. look what happened this year. the total mirror image of 2006 by 56% to 30%. -- 30%. -- 38%. that is the first key point that i want you to take away from here. it was independence that drove far morendependencnts like republicans on a host of issues. attitudes towards the president, attitudes towards health care,

towards tax cuts. they now look like republicans rather than like democrats. let me give you a few examples. democrats think things are fine. 55 percent of democrats think the company is going in the right direction. only one-third looks at the country going in the wrong direction. among republicans, it is nine out of 10. you have republicans and independents on one side thinking the country is going on the wrong -- in the wrong direction. you have a democratic control of the house, the senate and the presidency, and out of tin independence think the country is going the wrong way. we started bringing this bill saying that the independents are looking at this and is

exactly what happened. government should do more to solve problems. three-quarters of democrats think that government should be doing more. but six out of 10 independent voters that government is doing too much that should be left to businesses and individuals. this is another example. the same thing goes for the president's job approval. you know what the president's job approval is among democrats that voted last tuesday? 84%. 84% to 12%. 91% of republicans disapprove. independent voters, but a two- one margin, independent voters disapprove of the job that obama is doing. again, we see independent voters

looking like republicans. how about the presidential election? by 50% to 40%, in the broader electorate, those people that voted in 2008 but not 2010, the generic republicans still lost it was 40% to 40%. virtually, all republicans support the republicans, but among independent voters with a generic republican against barack obama, 56% of independent voters to 28% as an exact two- one margin in favor of a generic republican. the interesting point, here, is that it is not just the 2010 electorate, but the 2008

electorate that has the same pattern. in the same way on issues. tax cuts are the big ones coming up. stan wrote one part of the tax- cut argument and i wrote the other side of the tax-cut argument cutting taxes permit before the middle class is necessary to protect social security. we should extend the tax cuts for every one, raising taxes on anyone in a weak economy is a bad idea and it will hit businesses especially hard. it is exactly the wrong medicine for a struggling economy. it would not surprise you that democrats, like the first statement, 69% to 26%. a majority of independents want to extend the tax cuts for every one. how about obamacare?

81% of democrats support the president's health care law. 93% of republicans oppose the health care law a majorit -- the health-care law. it will not surprise you if you ask a repealed and replaced question on obamacare, 80% of democrats do not want to be left -- want to repeal it. independence support repeal and replaced. -- independent voters support repeal and replaced. this tells you white independent voters and republicans are so negative. and despite all of the debate, overwhelming majorities of americans believe that the obama health care law will

increase their health care costs. the american people have told us repeatedly over the last four years that controlling health- care costs is their number-one priority. they get the fact that the number one priority of the democrats in congress is expanding coverage, not to control costs. you have this huge debate, doing exactly the opposite of what americans wanted which is to control health-care costs. you have overwhelming majorities of americans who believe that obama is health care law will increase taxes, increase the deficit and hurt the quality of their health care. let me tell you, this is a stunning legislative achievement to come up with a piece of legislation where overwhelming majorities believe it will increase their costs, taxes, and the deficit and improve the quality of care. that is an amazing achievement.

finally, on party trust, 2010 boaters and independent voters now trust the republican party more than the democratic party on the key fiscal and economic issues that so dominated this election. by a margin of 221, -- of 21, -- 2 to 1, is an amazing shift two years ago. it is amazing that this climate exists as we go to the next congress. democrats have an advantage on education and health care, but republicans have an advantage only on education.

so, here are the three key things i wanted to take away from this. this is what the forest looks like. independent voters are closer to republicans and democratic voters on a host of political issues. independents now trust republicans more than democrats on economic and fiscal issues. i will pass the baton to stand and you'll probably get a little different perspective. >> thank you, very much. thank you for the opportunity for this poll. crafting the poll was not a bitter battle. we were able to arrive at a survey instrument that we shared. we agree on probably 75% of what is in the poll. we do bring interpretation and you can use that.

you may think that i am using it to spin, but i am trying to use the historical experience to look at this data. resurgent republic created this idea and tooling provided the platform, so it was greatly appreciated. this election one of the things we were able to do in this survey to begin with, it was to repeat the question -- i was in the white house in 1994, so we had not had this kind of election on the democratic side since november 8, 1994. upon clinton at the time, we did

a post-election poll at that time, sponsored by the democratic leadership council, but we also do that monthly throughout the year, and i would just note in terms -- i know this is a high-tech place, and new orleans has its own way of life. this won out over powerpoint. the graphs are on our website. i should say in an effort of bipartisanship, we have more, and there are both memos, so we want people to read the interpretations on both sides of this. in 1994, it was a difficult election. when you look at the grass, op-

ed -- look at the graphs, there is the favorability ratings, president obama, president clinton. we asked the question whether president clinton is taking the country in the right direction or not, and we also tracked monthly. in 1994, the numbers tractor right through the election campaign -- tracked right through the election campaign. we also know what happened after 1994. when we went from a landslide election to the republicans, an electoral college pill landslide for president clinton, -- an electoral college landslide for president clinton, and we survived upset -- survived that,

but it was a platform full of risk for republicans, as we know, and i actually want to spend some time on those risks going forward. using real numbers, i do want to underscore that in this election, the voters had a very big message for president obama. they were very angry and conscious that, and we ask questions about this, who was in control of congress, and they were very conscious of what they were doing. it wanted to take away democratic control of congress. ms. was about the obama agenda, and it was a very. this was about the obama agenda, and it was very centered on

puerto rican -- it was centered on unemployment and people being unhappy with the lack of progress, failing to get the job numbers down, the health-care debate more than anything. the health-care about a was diverting attention from the economy. -- the health care issue was diverting attention away from the economy. they were angry about the partisan fights, battles, gridlock that carried on and the division that carried on, and

they were sending a very big message in this that the democrats need to hear, a lot of focus on jobs. there was the laws particularly of working-class men who pulled away in this. we're back to the reagan democrats, and there are the loss of those voters there. people were voting against democrats, and they had plenty to say, but i want to, with plenty of humility, say we should be a little careful,

because it is not the same thing messagethat the voters' is the same thing to republicans as to what they should be doing now. the state of the republican party in this poll what no higher than the standing of the republican party in 2008 or 2006. this is about democrats, democrats coming down to the same level. it is remarkable that you have an eight-point defeat, and of the same people talking to the exit poll questioners, coming out even.

people are making a very discerning message. they are sending a message. this is not about the washington agenda or the republican party. they are very discerning in how they are interpreting their message. there are some things that you cannot expect to continue. this was a seniors' election. it was a seven-point rise. young voters also dropped out,

almost half of the numbers they had in the last election. it is no doubt that this is self-care related, very specific to this election. do not assume them the other elections will of this kind of composition. young voters are going to be back, i promise you. it is not known that the medicare issue will play out the same way. it is republicans putting medicare cuts on the table going forward. do not assume this was a future. -- it is for the future. by the way, the exact same thing

happened in 1994. but first two years of the clinton era, the newt gingrich revolution coming out of it. they turned against us, and the electorate changed. 80% of republicans korea conservatives voted for republicans. -- a 80% of conservatives voted for republicans in this election. as we know historically, that

can play out in different ways as we go forward. making the argument firs that many of the things that produced this landslide will change. age patterns will change. the scale dropping back to normal levels or seniors dropping to normal levels is a dramatic change. the young numbers will be coming back again. married women. if you want to understand the democratic majority that emerged in 2006 and 2008, the democratic party coalition is more diverse, ethnically and racially but

included unmarried women who were very supportive of a larger role of government, very impacted by the economy. they dropped more than any other group as a part of the democratic base. these are voters who are coming back in future elections, particularly after the republicans. there are two big problems going forward. the first test to do with deficits and austerity. to say the democrats spend into a much in ran up the deficit is not the same thing as saying that the first priority of this country ought to be austere measures. the reason they are angry at

democrats is not the same thing. you will see the best in this survey a whole lot of questions. if i want to look at the results that surprised me, do you want more government or less government, more government than less? in this environment, i would have thought we would have been slaughtered. i never liked that choice, because i was a bill clinton democrats, but nevertheless, i stuck with it. i want to give the exact wording

of this right. also give me a chance to read it. i want somebody in washington that will fight big corporate interests. by the way, i constructed this question on both sides. remember, we're asking this choice. the framing of the election choice. i want somebody in washington the will fight big corporations, or a once someone who will rein in spending and deficits. regent or i want somebody who will rein in spending and deficits -- or i want somebody who will. i will give another.

cutting the debt and making growth producing investments in industry and small business and make us stronger and more procol -- competitive. note that we need to make cutting the deficit a higher priority than making us more competitive. more people chose the first office -- option. people want to address growth. the republicans are in a spiral mount -- now. they do that as their mandate. that is not the mandate of the country. they are angry about spending and deficits. people want a bigger vision for the country.

the first is, do not get this wrong, it has to do with cooperation between parties. there is no stronger results in year, and we asked about 10 questions on the subject about whether we should be working with the other party and if we should stand up for principle or work to get things done. the message, every single question is work together, get things done. people were angry about partisan gridlock. i will not go through the data on it, but the challenge is on virtually every question, regarding the republicans, they say do not compromise, try to the president obama fail, because he is going to harm the country.

the day year says this creates a platform in which republicans had freedom of movement. the last thing has to deal with health care. and when asked about health care, -- on whether or not you favor or oppose, it was only a few points. we also played out the debate.

we cannot even on this debate. if republicans become obsessed with health care and are fighting on health care every time there is a debt limit, if health care is their obsession rather than jobs, that can play out in ways. the health-care issue was on a yearlong process with special deals, not being focused on the economy. yes, there are some specifics in the budget. it is the process. the bottom line, in 1994, president clinton was to a

variety of things, oklahoma city, when he began to speak to the country, to protect medicare and education and the environment, the newt gingrich congress, and then reaching out and agreeing on some big issues. history is different. the challenge for the republicans will be how to deal with this reality, which will be very different. >> we will give you the last word. >> we will also have a short q&a, too. >> the great news for republicans, as discussed here by both, is that the majority of independents are with

republicans on the most pressing issues of the day, and in the house, they have just gained control. extending the bush tax cuts, the majority independence voted with republicans in curtailing public spending note -- the majority of independents voted republicans in archaic -- in curtailing public spending. jobs, the economy, taxes, and spending with independent voters. we need to keep that, and i think the most pressing issue for voters remains jobs, and as we talk about health care, there needs to be a debate about a job killing mandate, and this is so employers can hire again. this drove up the cost of premiums for employers, making

it more expensive to hire again. if this tax increase takes effect in january 2011, it will affect small business ownersnd investors and job creators, so everything republicans do has to tie back to jobs. we have to finish the sentence. one of the best people in our party is bob mcdonnell, in virginia, when he said we need to know where taxes, because then employers will be able to hire more. we need to have offshore drilling off the coast of virginia. that will create jobs. with the independencts, as important as this debate goes all right on health care, on taxes, on the debts, we take it

to the next iteration, which is the effect will have on the economy and jobs, and that will keep the independent voters with us. the last thing that we touched on was the perception of the republican party, the democratic party, and the tea party. a significant gap between the leaders to view of the tea party voters on the coast, new york city, washington, d.c., los angeles, and among voters across the country, who have a pretty and i think theot, tea-party voters -- >> they do not like pollsters, either. >> it ahead of the democratic party, i think, in perception. the fact is, there is a real state party there. i think it is a good thing for republicans and congress, and i

hope that over time these efforts to marginalize tea party voters which i do not think it is the interest of the democratic party, and maybe the media will understand who these voters are and stop characterizing them and tried to marginalize them. i do not think it serves them. so, james, with that, i will cut it a little short. >> i am going to suspend the first amendment. there is no right to give a speech and not have questions, so if anyone has any questions, please step up to the mike, and please be sure, because we have another panel, but remember the first amendment is suspended. >> why do i get a sense you are not kidding when you said that? you are not going to like me

then. my name is mike. i am a political cartoonist. i am apolitical. you gentlemen are so schooled in -- >> i am sorry. you have to ask a question. what is your question? >> if you guys have been in charge of your blues and your reds and your purples, i want to remember that if you are independent, and you vote for a d or an r, it does not make it independent. it makes you one of the corrupt parties. >> thank you. let the next edelman, .

-- the next gentleman, . -- come up. >> i went to hear you all talk about who did not vote, and you did not comment on the minority vote. myself, i am an independent. i consider myself -- >> ask a question. we are having a difficult time getting a question. ask a question. >> it is not true. all voters dropped out in the off years. it was high for african-american voters in the presidential year. they maintain their level, and

everyone expected them to drop. the southwest, and impacted races in california and nevada. if you look at the drop in democratic support, latinos and african-americans have a significant impact. >> latinos voted in just about the same proportion to democrats as they did in 2008, about two- one for democrats, and it is a huge challenge for republicans, but there is enormous promise. the first, arclight from florida, -- our candidate from florida, marco rubio, and others, we have now two conservative republican governors in new mexico and nevada pet in a very -- and

nevada, and a very, very powerful politician from florida. marco won 65% of the vote in florida. >> thank you. >> i would like you to tell me what is going on. the presidential agenda has not changed. he ran on this agenda, and he was elected overwhelmingly by the electorate. what is happening among independent voters approve of the schizophrenic? are they upset about the economy? what is really driving this vote? [laughter] [applause] >> no, i think independent voters are largely driven note intently on either side. there was a lot more on the republican side in this election, as there was in 2006

on the democratic side. i think that resonated with a lot of voters. they share some of the intensity. they thought they were voting to change washington in 2008. what they're seeing now is an effort to change the fundamental underpinnings, to move away from a free enterprise system, and that is not what they were looking for. in health care reform, they were looking for health care reform that would bring down the cost of insurance to make it more acceptable. they were not looking for a bill that actually increases insurance premiums, it increases government spending, and makes it very likely within the next five years, the notion that if you like your insurance, you can keep it, nonsense. it turns out it is nonsense. that is not what they bargained

for. this will give republicans a chance, and the tea party voters, believe me, it is the right problem to have. 4 million more voters in the republican party in the primaries than the democrat party. >> some of this is real. president obama's was elected on the economy. they focused on jobs like a laser and move to the numbers. this is about performance of the economy. -- and moved to the numbers -- moved the numbers. for some, it is not real.

young voters are more independent. there was a conservative surge in this election. this is about polling. when you see a poll, after a democratic convention -- when you see a poll come out after a democratic convention, you say, "boy, voters are fed " -- fickle." the same thing is true here, but it also affects the vote, ok? there was a lot of excitement. that will change. it will affect the competition so it is different. ed has to catch a plane, and

it was a terrific idea. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] thank you. we will take a couple of questions. we will go to a couple of questions here. >> my name is vincent. i want to congratulate you. i really would also like inclusion. what i would like to see is an african-american republican, an independent, and a democrat tell our side of the story. ok. thank you. .

i think it was mark twain that commented on democracy in one of his more cynical moments that democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they have for lunch. [laughter] 42% of the voters were conservative and 28% were liberal.

they were rejecting republican governance. they were not endorsing a big- government agenda. a lot of these independents who flipped it thought that they would get a bipartisan, bring us together, united states of america. and they perceive they got a big spending, big government, big taxing agenda. that is not what they expected. [inaudible] . >> ma'am, i don't mean to be rude but we are short on time and the people are lined up for questions. we need some kind of mechanism. >> i answer with more respect than mark twain for the voter.

the voters thought they were voting for change on the style of politics and on addressing the economy and jobs. they think, and i think it's a fair perception, that the economic policies were not big enough to address the problems, the vision that the president articulated was not big enough to give people a sense of where -- for people to understand what the policies were about and where they were going and i think voters are right to say, to express their anger about that. i respect the voters on the judgment they made, and they did make a big judgment on both the manner of politics and economic government. >> this is the last question of the panel and there's a media panel immediately following this and they'll address the question of bias or whatever you have. this is a polling panel.

>> my name is linda hawkins. my question is about the polling. when i look at the numbers here and this is a basic question. it looks like there was 1,000 people in the sample. where is the sample coming from? is it across the country? i'm concerned about, when we do these polls, the numbers are not large enough to come out with the results. >> let me jump in, because these two guise are pollsters, i'm not. i think they would agree. polling had a pretty good election. i always like the story where the experts were stumped, actually, almost to the number. go ahead, sam. >> we may want to address that. there were polls that were not losing -- live interviewers were not using cell phones, were not polling over multiple days.

those polls were systematically wrong. the major newspaper polls are right, but a lot of polls were very wrong. you can do a sample of 1,000 and get an accurate read, a reasonable number. >> it continues to amaze me how if you pick randomly and set up your sample right, how close you can come to the actual result. and i've been doing this a long time. >> i just got to say, everybody loves the story of them getting it wrong. i think, in our democracy, the last seven, we have not, in presidential elections, unweighted numbers have 97 -- never been even a point off. of the public, i would pay more attention to nbc-"wall street journal," nbc -- abc-"washington

post." there's a lot of bad polls out there. this poll they did was not a cheap poll. but we're going to have to move to the next panel. let's give these guys a round of applause. >> congress returns on monday. work is expected on the bush tax cuts as well as spending for the next year. watch the house on c-span. when the senate reconvenes on monday, possible work includes bills on an electric vehicles as well as wage equality and modernization of the food and drug administration. watch the senate to live on c- span2. republicans assume majority of the house. before that, party leadership

elections. in the house, republicans will select a new speaker on november 17. democrats would choose a minority leader the next day. in the senate, both the republicans and democrats vote on leaders on november 16. state 10 to c-span for continuing coverage. -- stay tuned to c-span for continuing coverage. new members are writing for orientation. . bacon and joins us from the "washington post." >> the biggest thing about the republicans, a lot of freshmen have never been in any kind of government. not only congress, but their doctors, and never served as state legislatures or city councils. they ran on a tea party platform opposed to government. they will have to learn about the rules more than previous new

members of congress have. >> you mentioned their goals during the campaign. you have a sense of what their legislative priorities might be? >> new members among the republicans will be less about what they want to do and what they want to oppose. everything that president obama proposes. they want to cut spending, repeal the health care legislation, and the republicans in the house want to undo the last two years of what president obama and the democrats in congress have done. that is their big mission. >> to some of the tea party candidates have concerns with working with the gop already in power? >> they have some concncerns. and know that rand paul has expressed concerns about your marks, which is the way that congress designates spending in

bills. there are some views that to the right of the current republicans in congress and there will be some contention in that regard. >> hal is the new class with the changes in leadership -- how was the formal power structure of the gop changing? >> it is doing pretty much the same. john boehner will be the likely speaker, eric cantor from virginia number two. they're creating a new leadership position going to one of the freshman. that is the only formal change. the informal changes is that there will be a lot more republicans and more of them will be the conservative activist type. they will push the party to the right. >> any idea how this might affect democrats? >> democrats, there are two different ways. president obama it is giving signals that he wants to find ways to compromise on the republican ground a little bit.

earlier this year, he had been very opposed to allowing the tax cuts for income over $200,000. he is now suggesting he might allow some of those taxes to keep going, aware that republicans are in the house right now. the democrats in the house look like they will be very emphatic as chile were before. the house looks likhey will keep nancy pelosi in place as the democratic leader. some thought that she might move on but she will apparently stay on and keep the policies over the last two years. >> a look capitol hill with. bacon -- perry bacon. >> next, a discussion of the impact of the tea party on the 112th congress. after that, look at the future of u.s. healthcare and issues

facing consumers of health insurance. >> the c-span networks -- providing coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history. it is all available to you on television, radio, online, and on social networking sites. view our content anytime at the c-span video library. we take you on the road with our digital content bus. it is washington your way. the c-span networks -- now available in more than 100 million homes, created by cable, provided as a public service. >> five republican u.s. senate candidates as well as 40 u.s. house candidates were all supported by tea party groups elected on november 2. next, a heritage foundation discussion on whether these new members of the 112th congress will continue to support the goals of the tea party as well as the future of the tea party movement. this is an hour.

>> we would ask that cellphones be turned off in house and we will oppose the program within 24 hours on our website for everyone's future residents. posting a discussion this morning is michael franc, from here at heritage. he oversees our outreach to capitol hill and the executive branch. he previously served as the director of communications for dick armey of texas, and prior

to that, he was a director of congressional relations here. he served at the office of national drug control policy and worked with a california representative. please join me in welcoming michael wrigh -- franc. >> welcome to the heritage foundation. this is something we wanted to do not immediately after the election, yet a few days to get all the results to come and for people to form some thoughts about the significance of what happened last tuesday, and then we wanted to invite three folks who from significant perspectives will shed an awful lot of light on what could be a significant election by any historical standard. before introduce them, i want to lay out markers for the discussion that. to the significance of where the tea party has come from. if we did this two years ago,

people would say what? a couple things. a party movement. there is very little trust in the major parties. approval and disapproval of the democrat and republican parties were both negative 10. the tea party was 39 approve, 32 disapprove. the rest were neutral. they actually had a net positive. at the state level, there were some cases where there were more questions as the bulk ked e tea party and the other major parties. teh tea parhe tea party is net e

17 states. also interesting to me is that there were 11 states where the tea party had and a higher approval rating than one of the major parties. in california, ohio, washington, and orgaorigen the tea party was more popular. having it is obvious that where we are at is -- i'd think it is obvious that where we're at is a major for. we will look at major prospective scope of questions relating to the sustainability of the two-party movement. how will the two-partea party ey and passion find its way in washington?

we have three terrific speakers. billie tucker, executive director of the first coast tea party in florida. she served as ceo for 20 years and her former role as executive vice president of tec florida. she has spent her entire career working with ceos and executives, earning her reputation for the teen understandings of motivations to become more effective. we need a lot of that here. she will be our first weaker. billie is representative of the leaders that have emerged. there is really no one leader of the tea party movement. it is the spontaneity that came

out of almost nowhere to have their voice heard. billie does a great spokeswoman for that dynamic. our next speaker launched political blog in 2003. he helped create a model for success and expansion. his pieces have appeared in "the daily standard" and "the new york post." his commentary is widely sought after. 25,000 daily visitors to his daily readings. he will address some of those aspects today. our cleanup speaker is byron york. he provides conservative

commentary once a week for the examiner, which is a terrific column. i encourage you to read it. he previously was a white house correspondent for "the natiol review." i want to read the title of his book that i thoroughly enjoyed. "the vast left wing conspiracy." that is the title of a great book. you could start off, and we look forward to going ahead. >> thank you. i want to take this moment for saying i am here to represent a lot of people that set up on november 2 and before that to take our country back. everyone says they get back to waake it back to what?

i will do my best to represent each of you. there is no leader in the tea party movement, and that is what makes us unique and so different. most of us did not know we would be in this movement. that is exactly my story. it is really interesting because we are all being asked what now? its like we're setting up a secret room. it did not happen that way. we were all call to this through a movement inside a parked at that told the sunday and was seriously wrong in this country. -- we were all called to this movement through our gut. during this election campaign -- when the movement first got

started, we were really focused on the issues. that is what the tea party is all about. we have aot of issues. we are in serious financial trouble. we are in a lot of ways we are in a decline that we have never seen in our history. this is why people are waking up, because we know it. there are a lot of smart people in america, and i am so honored to have worked with them. i have worked with ceo's that have brought huge organizations to our country, and i thought they were smart until i started working with people in the tea party movement. americans are very smart people. they have known for a while the something was going on in our country. what happened last tuesday night was so great. our founrs created this whole process by which we could do

that. we put it into action. it was so cool to be a part of that. it was so phenomenal to be a part of it. listen, we are not smart enough to figure that strategy out. our founders did it for us. and it worked beautifully last tuesday night. i am here to tell you that people say what now? we do not know. we did not know what was now for the tea party when we got involved for it. we know one thing, we're not going away. we did not give our lives of foufor two years -- and that is whatost of us did. a lot of people gave up careers, walked away from any kind of financial way tcreate wealth for them, and they created an

organization of loosely- connected groups al over the country without any big money. there was no big factor. -- big backer. we paid our own airline ticket to comee here and say no to this. we wrote our congressman. we activated our citizenship. we did this in a robust led by paying for it at our own pocks. we are all grow. -- broke. we are all trying to regroup. tuesday night we had a great night. i am from florida, we had a super night in florida. marco is coming to washington, d.c., because of the tea party.

we are all about telling the truth. the gop did not get behind him when it first came out. there were standing behind our governor who ended up being -- we do not know what he was. they did not stand behind marco. he showed up at the tea parties. he had no money. i remember hearing a radio show where he was talking aut he had no money. the gop did not get behind him, but the tea party did. all of a sudden, the gop realize we have put our faith in the wrong person. theyad to scramble. that is who is coming to washington. the gop let him do his adess on saturday. he has not even got here. afr obama's address, she did

his address. we have a governor in florida that the gop did not support at first. the tea party did. we're not blaming the gop, we're just saying we stood outside. we kept saying no because we are smart. we put fpressure on both parties. now they are saying now what? we're saying we're going to keep pressuring you. we're going to make sure the democrats ke their party back from the progressives. we have to come back together to our parties. that is what we want. we are so thrilled about it. i am not the expert. i am not the queen of the tea party. i am just e person in america that is standing up. before i came, i said i am going

to go to heritage, tell me what you want me to tell them. i am disappointed quickly go through this. -- i am going to quickly go through this. we had 90 people telling us what you can do. i am going to share a few of these things with you. this is america. number one, we're not going away. if you think we are, we are not. we have to have garage sales to fund this. [laughter] we will watch each and every new member of congress to make sure they are not going to be corrupted when they come to d.c. something happenwhen people come up here. they seem like a really great people, and after a while they do not look like the same people we sent here. heritage, you are up here. we are born to ask you to keep an eye on them. -- we are going to ask you to

keep an eye on them. i cannot tell you how much i have learned in the past few years. here are the issues ware concerned. the decline of the dollar. the over-reaching federal reserve is another one. the debt. out of control spending. they want you to balance the budget. hel? this is common sense. we do not want any more pork, earmarks. we want you to keep taxes low. tax reform. keep it simple. repeal the health-care bill and finance bill. we want congress to get back to working on the constitutional ways. this is craziness that went on. how about reading of bil a bill? we did.

they said read the bill? what are you talking about? it is all just craziness. somebody put somethi in the water. [laughter] national security. it is a big deal. we do not feel safe. we do not feel safe with our money. we do not feel safe with our security. our borders. we of terrorism going on. when of terrorism with our money. -- we have terrorism with our money. we went to algor builcreate a nd of communicating. and it is important that the people we send up here stay connected to those of us back home. we also want you to check on the regulatory agencies, make sure

we know at they are doing. we did not trust the epa, the department of energy, any of the bureaucracies. there is a huge level of stress going on. we will stick connected. there is no big organization, no big leader or board that tells us what to do. we like it that way. we have done a pretty good job without being managed from the top down. one thing we are doing, and this is florida. the florida groups -- how do we communicate? we google. we were dided. we were divided when we had our governor's race as to the gop candidates or the tea party candidate. we came together and we said we're going to get behind mr. scott and we