congressmen to be alan west, which i am so happy -- [applause] turkey. they are part of nato. they kd of have control over the missile defense system in that area, to the other side. israel, which is really thee ally of the united states, is not part of nato, and there are voices in the administration to cut joint training with the military. what would you think about getting turkey out of there? >> the mt important thing with turkey, when they created the modern secular state of turkey, it depended upon the military to

be the guardian of that state of turkey. now when you look at their leadership, you start to see turkey slip towards their radical islam, d that is something of great seconcern to me. i have had many dealings with nato and the army. we need to start looking at how we expand. there is collective security. how do we expand nato and bring in some other countries? because the threats we're talking about our global threats. a new zealand, australia, you name it, it is not your typical nato, and we need to start looking at how we bring israel in their. let me tell you the danger. the danger is beingsed the nato charter. turkey claims agreed stus, some type of action taken against them.

then they say you support us as a member of nato. i would be fearful that something like that happened, and i thought we were on the cusp of something like that happening during the gaza flotilla episode. we must continue to have those joint military operations with israel because it sends a message to the enemies to the north, with hezbollah. it sends a message to the enemies to the south, hamas, it sends a message to mahmoud ahmadinejad, and don't forget syria and the support they're providing also. we need to look and see how we can continue to expand tse using our marine expeditionary units, things of that nature, and joint military operations, the air force, and arnavies. my commitment on getting on the armed services committee would be to continue to have joint exercises with israel because of the message it sends to our

adversaries. [applause] >> the speeches you have been making have been wonderful, but one subject was not brought up, and that is notnd israel, europe, africa, or mexico, it is in this country. we have a time of outrage. the united states government is not permitting a legitimate organizations that are in favor of israel to get 501.3c permission. they are forgetting their applications to a special branch of the irs to check into the organization's. this is going on right now. the united states government and the irs are being sued for an infraction of the constitution because of this, and this is a time for outraged by american

jews. please remark on that. >> i will tell you that is something that is new to me, but we will make sure that we look into it and see what we can do. after january 5, take the oath of office, 1708 loworth building. please come by. >> this has been absolutely amazing, frankie. but i am sorry, this is a question not only forhe panel but everybody in the audience. todacannotend end the jewish people, you stay home, play cards, played golf, tennis, brie, we do not come together to support israel or america it in their time of need. i am glad that you were all here from all over the area,

because i feel we need to come together locally. when there is a march in washington or new york, why don't we gather in florida? not such a strange thought. you have federations, synagogues, you have jcrc. come together. what have the photo the, what they want to do? go to the local federation building and stand up in the evening, nice and quiet with a candle, showing silent support. the question to all of you is, can you help that? will you support and will you come? and bring people with you. [applause] >> that was not directed to me, but i will answer that partially.

americans for save israel have chapters throughout the country, throughout the world. we have a chapter in miami, and my chair woman is right there. when issues such as what you just described, the flotilla issue, etcetera, i rise, we localize people and we try to get out on the streets, have our protests, and make the news and let people know that these actions are not acceptable, that we will protest. so i offer to you the opportunity to reach carroll, and of course anyone who would want to beat a chair person -- who would want to be a share person, just see me. we'd love to have your help. [applause]

>> that was not directed to me, but let me answer that in a roundabout way. somebody eluded that i am paying a very bleak picture. it happens to be true. we need to face reality that we could do something about it. to put it in a humorous way, you probably heard the joke about the elderly jew reading and anti-semitic newspaper. at one of his friend says, what on earth is going on? why are you not reading a jewish newspaper? he said if i read the jewish state pepper, we're being persecuted, thrown out, destitute. the anti-semitic paper, the jew rule the world, patrol the banks and the government. everything is much better. to raise consciousness, i think the task we tried to set for ourselves tonight, there are organizations committed with

chapters in several parts of the states in the country very active. i see people motivated. we make the int that it's very often missed, and that is the fact we're dealing with the case of fatah not just with some representative non-islamic organization. it calls for the elimination of israel, and terrorism as an indispensable strategy to bring about that old. it involved with whichever organization and follow the issues were people like taking this to the government and media and start the ball rolling. thank you. [applause] >> o thing that was not

mentioned, and now that we have the national media here, is she street. it -- in street. ael organization. they have the goal of bringing more jews to the democratic party. while our organization is non- partisan, that is their main objective. whether they destroy israel in the process or not. indeed, the group practices this moral equivalent, where the hamas suicide government -- a hamas suicide bomber is no different, according to them, then the israelis to protect their citizens security. it must be noted, and dennis brown and i, we spoke outside

their first event in south florida. they open up a chapter in south florida, and afterwards we found out that this leader of a group that actually got shut down for being involved with a terrorist organization, hamas. he heads an organization in north miami beach. they actually gave this guy around of applause at the meeting, which tells you what type of organization that is. so be aware, and we are here as well. [applause] >> first of all, joe, thank you for the event and think before providing a greatsegue -- a greatsegue. in 2006, after the disengagement

from gaza, hamas took over gaza by force, they took over the government. there was a petition nt around by a group which was signed by 387 rabbis, urging president bush not to discontinue foreign aid funding to a hamas government. i was talking to a man before -- i was a member of a temple at that time, two signatories to that petition were members of the temple i was part of. he sent an e-mail to his rabbi, and the rabbi told him he was completely in favor of building a mosque at ground zero. you mentioned in your comments that is so important for all jews to stand together in america and israel and together.

how is it possible for all jews to stand togethe whethere is a very numerous faction of jews who are supporting and empowering our enemies? [applause] >> i will te you a joke, and this will be my answer. at once, the president of israel came to the president of the united states and said, mr. president, you are a lucky man, you where the president of 300 million people. the president of the united states said your president, too. the president of israel said, yes, i am the president of 7 million presidents. it did to get my answer? when? two jews, -- when you taketwo jews, you get three opinions. did you get my answer?

>> my name is beverly kravitz. i want to thank all of you people individually, because you're talks were wonderful. danielle, i have been a member of the zionist organization, a proud and longtime member of the organization, for at least 25, 30 years. -- i go onon theuses the buses to washington to lobby. there are some things i would like to touch on, first about the mosque. it then i will say this quickly. i overheard a piece on fox television that the minister had said and made a statement that he wants to build mosques all over the net estates.

he is in the process. . he hasn't even gotn apurant to the rule for this one, we've been out of it because we've been in florida, but that's his goal. as far as terrorism is concerned, yesterday, my husband and i went to a conference on islam and i agree with this gentleman on jihad watch to have an international or a congressional investigation. we went to hear -- i'm getting -- steve emerson speak at s.a.u. about terrorism. local-grown terrorism cells, internatiol terrorism cells, and what's happening here in the united states this morning, we have more problems than ever

every time i turn on the television, i hear that a terrorism attack has been prevented and the names are muslim names that are involved. i know the percentages go back and forth. thisorng, i was watching television and fareed section ryea, on his program -- zachariah, on his program on c minimized the facts of the terrorism problem here in the united states by muslim individuals. the media is feeding us garbage, people watch cnn, they believe what they see and top people in the media are feeding us plum and ople are believing it. i ank you.

oh, and forgive me, i was supposed to make another statement, with reference to the 501 c 3 issue -- the 501c3 issue , jay street, as we all know, has been funded by george soros, funded, supported and ideologically supported by gege sombings ros, who was an anti-zion, anti-israel person. there is a laurie lowenthal marcus who is a past president of d.o.a., has a piece of litigation, she's a harvard graduate, she has a piece of litigation now in washington against the federal government because they applied for 501c3 approval for people who contributed to their

organization. it's called z-street, it's against j street and they have been denied, their alication has been sent for special inspection by the federal government with several other jewish organizations. i think that thiis nazi-like. thank you. >> speaking of 501c3's, we veff one, donate. >> do we have time for one more question? >> first, you made me a happy man today, not only with your joke bus now that you tell me you're center right, i'm happy because i remember in 1993, you were pro oslo accords, now you're making me a happy man. to congressman alan west, for the last time ever, i'm going to

call you alan, if i may. the oklahoma vote on sharia law is there anything that congress can do to support the oklahomans who voted against sharia law? >> i think the number one thing is we should be able to invoke the 10th amendment which says that the rights not precybered to the federal government go to the state of individual. the 10th amendment should allow them to stand. if the people of the state of oklahoma by referendum voted for this, shah should be the end of it. if we get away from that happen, we get to activist judge the panel of the black robes who can start to overrule the referendum of the people, we will no longer be a republic, we wi no lonr have the rule of law. i think the most important thing we have to realize is there is an infiltration that is happening in the united states of america into our political systems, educational, cultural

systems, financial systems, and we've got to start, as i said, the number one thing, we've got to recognize this enemy and understand his strategic goals and objectives and then we have to take the right and proper actions which starts at the congress of the united states of america, which, we're the ones supposed to be watching over the american people. >> i want to thank everyone for coming, we're kilogoing to close this out with a closing prayer. >> nobody can accuse us of being sexist or chvinistic. i may not be a rabbi, but i'm a history major, i teach jewish story in high schools and i learned so much from all the lecturers who are brilliant and eloquent and full of hard core facts in support of israel and

against terrorism, it's interesting that as jews, we represent .2% of the world's population yet have a disproportional impact on the universe. with more than 20% of all individual nobel prizes being awarded to juice, technological advances, and although israel is a very tiny state, we've occupied so much of the media coverage, not necessarily in a good way, over 400 u.n. resolutions since the institution of the united nations has been surrounded the state of israel, i believe, correct me if i'm wrong, more than any other issue. of course, as jews and non-jews alike, israel has a colossal magnetism as was said perhaps most profoundly by the spanish poet and scholar, my heart is in

the east, should i not say that? my heart is in the east, though i am in the st. we know that god says in the torah -- [speaking hebw] god's eyes are focused on the land of israel from the onset of the year until the end of the year. [applause] and so, perhaps the obsession, negative and positive, over the land of israel is a calling a calling to jewish people to stand up, it doesn allow us to assimilate entirely and to forget our entity but it always reminds us that we are a people that are unique and we have a homeland and this calling is two-fd. on one hand, the torah tel us,

you must obliterate the evil from amidst your environment, and all of what we've been discussing is about exposing evil, terrorism and lies that fester like mold in the darkness and grow and many times when they're exposed to light and when people see what it's really about and the hidden agendas, they kind of melt away because they love the dishonesty, the blackness, the lack of exposure that lies behind terrorist motivations. so obliterate, stand up when you see something unjust, when you see something immoral, take it to task, speak about it, post it on your facebook page. we are the media. talk about it, don't just let it go and on the other hand we know it tells us, a little bit of light a little candle, could

light up a very big darkroom that little bit of light starts in our very own little lives, our small lives, that each one of us has the opportunity to add a little bit of light into our lives and this could be through lighting up somebody else's life by bag positive influence on another person, a hero in our own homes, by standing up for our jewish heritage, our right to the state of israel sms from the words in the torah and the torah tells us, you are god's people and god has a mission, global mission for us, we don't need to be afraid of it. any little thing we do adds light into our lives and into the entire environment, lighting candles, keeping the holiday of hanukkah purim, all these things help collectively to add light to the universe and help protect

israel from a spiritual vantage point. sometimes it seem there is is no good solution to peace in the middle east and he had a vision that there would be a fulfillment of the age-old prophecy that there would be an era of peace for all mankind, an era of redemptn when we would be able to live freely as juice and morality would reign supreme. he said that everyone has the ability to instigate this global revolution through small acts of goodness and kindness. so let us all increase in exposing the evil and immorality and justice of terrorism and adding little candles in our lives and together we will see the true peace in israel and in the entire world.

[applause] >> i just want to thank everyone, my wife, emily, worked very hard on this. she's been amazing. i love you. our daughter up there, eff rubinov, lisa macy, joe citizen, ines chapman, denni brown, lacy rivelin, helen friedman, congressman-elect alan west, pastor o'neill, my friend dick duran, greg, our audio expert. we need money, please donate, we're a 501c3.

da nita and jack and anyone else that i didn't mention, thank you so much for coming to our event. be well, everybody. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> this morning, william bennett on the future of the republican party. we discussed the gulf oil spill. and a look at the marketing of organic food with christine bushway of the organic trade association. "washington journal" guinness live it 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. >> the cspan networks -- we provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books and public affairs. it is available online and on social media sites and on television. find are content any time on the cspan video library and we take

cspan on the road. , bringing our resources to your community. it is watching your weight, the cspan networks, available in more than 100 homes, provided as a public service by cable companies. >> delaware congressman mike castle is retiring from the house of representatives. he ran for the senate but lost the republican primary to christine o'donnell. we recently talked to congressman castle about his political career. this is half an hour. >> congressman mike castle, republican of delaware, serving as the lone member for that state since 1993. he started public service in the mid 1960's serving as attorney general, two-term governor and your tenure in the house of representatives. you are leaving congress now after losing the senate republican primary to christina o'donnell.

given your long tenure in public service and your wide popularity in the state of delaware, do you regret running for senate? >> actually, i don't regret ready for the senate. i regret perhaps how i ran for the senate and house -- how we could have done things differently. my intent was to run for the house for two more years and retire. i don't regret it. it was something i thought would help the state of delaware and i thought i was ready for it and i thought i could contribute to the senate. i had a lot of support both in congress, in the senate, and at home. i thought it would work out and i was caught up in a movement. to their credit, they were clever and they took me out that is the way it happened. >> what would you have done differently? given that you said you regret may be how you read your campaign, what advice would you give to a moderate republican

in 2012 facing possibly an even stronger tea party-type of movement? >> i have given a vice to people already. my advice is that they should be very cautious about this. we approached it from the point of view that we would probably win the primary but christie of dollars could stay in after that as a right in. she has done that before. we would have to deal with her and the democrats. we should have focused more on the primary circumstance. it is funny because lee said mark caskey called the after her loss and i got to know her a little bit. -- lisa murkowski called me after her loss and i got a dollar a little bit. people need to be cautious and watch their voting. moderate toed to go very conservative, you just need to be cautious about what you

are supporting and voting on. you need to raise your dollars and keep your profile with your political party. i have been taught to by republicans and democrats to keep your political profile high with your own party and go from there. anybody who believes that the tea party movement and i was taken out by a group called the tea party express' is going to go away is very mistaken. after a few more cycles, in this presidential year coming up, they will be real players in the republican party. they will be real players in the congressional and senate seats. incoming members of congress who are not necessarily tied into the tea party as i was not should be very cautious about how they deal with this. >> who has been seeking your advice? >> i have talked to a number of people. mentionedcessarily names. it is fairly self-evident. it is moderate republicans in

both the house and senate who are getting ready to run in the next election cycle will have already been threatened by tea party group' and others are concerned about it. >> given that lisa murkowski was successful in her right to bid, it should you have done that? >> i gave a lot of thought to that. i decided not to do it. even though i did not like it and it was not a majority of the republican party that turned out to vote, the party had spoken to a degree and that should be what we did. i was not a position to endorse christine o'donnell but i did not feel that i should necessarily interfere with the general election. the way it turned out, she was speaking so soundly in a way that i regret not getting into it for that reason. i will never know if i could have won it on a write-in vote.

the had a poll a week before the election showing i had a substantial lead over the democrat. i don't know if i could have won a write-in candidate. i had people contact my office and asked me to do it. it would have been a tossup situation. it would have been challenging but ultimately, it might not have been successful. might have been a difficult experience. it is what it is. i will always wonder if i could have won that race. i got into this at a younger age. i was approached by the republican party and i got involved in the young republicans in delaware with a couple of friends. we had done a lot to help the inner city where i lived.

we had singles dances and raised as much money for the republican party and they were impressed. i knocked on doors and candidly, i did not have much of a political agenda. i was not really committed republican at that time but i want to win. i played sports in high school and college and was determined to go out there and win. i was supported and ups that the democratic incumbents and two years later i ran for the state senate in delaware and then i really got involved in the issues like criminal justice and a variety of other issues. that interest grew as time went by. i realized that you could help people. if somebody called, you could -- and perhaps deal with the bureaucracy and help people in one way or another. i was delighted to do that. i was retired from politics and four years after that, i was as if i would run for lieutenant governor.

i was elected lieutenant governor and i was governor for one year. when i got through with that, i realize there was to life after the governorship and decided to run for the house of representatives. i was in the house for 18 years and i have enjoyed it. people ask about those jobs and they asked about the favorable legislation but in reality, it is in people who help other people. it is your staff in delaware and washington, d.c. they have reached out and helped people from social security to immigration issues. that is a very good feeling and i still get letters from people possibly thanking me for that service. that is an important component of being an elected statewide official. a congressman or a senator or governor. you are reaching out and helping people individually, it is not just big pieces of legislation and that has been very

rewarding. >> a piece written by george ellis says with the last of the luminaries of the stage, where does the state gop turn? he writes why does the republican -- why is the republican bench so weak? mike castle and others dominate the scene for so long, they might have blocked the path for others. >> i don't know about that. i was supportive of bill but i thought he would take his retirement which he did not do. i was obviously in a gubernatorial position and ran for the house where i have been for some time. there have been openings in

lieutenant governor and governor in that time and we have had some good candidates. bill lee came close to getting republic -- getting elected as a republican in delaware. we brought republicans along in a statewide basis. i worry about this to a degree. george hale worked for me and i support him but i feel as a whole that we have not advanced republicans to the point of getting them elected to some of these positions. i worry about the farm team very we had a bad election this year. we were the only state that had a bad republican election. we're the only state legislature to have democratic gains in the legislature in the entire country in the last election. that does not bode well for the future of the republican party. there is a lot of work to be done. i hope to be helpful with that. in the meantime, christine o'donnell and the tea party

people have indicated they want to take over the republican party in delaware. i am not sure that will work in terms of getting republicans elected. that should be a matter of concern for everybody. >> what is your advice to your republican colleagues in the 112 congress? >> my advice is to get things done. this was a two-year cycle in which saying no to president obama was sufficient to get many republicans elected because people did not agree with some of the spending which was going on, a continuation from the bush and some of the republican years. they did not agree with the health care bill or the stimulus and some other bills. the independents who supported obama before tended to swing to republicans in this election. it was a very bad cycle. republicans are now in charge of the house of representatives in congress and can stop things in the senate. i think there is a great

necessity to work with the president in a bipartisan way to formulate legislation if it is dealing with the deficit issues, no child left behind which will be up and also some energy bills and not just say no. whether that will happen or not, i don't know. there are conservative people that were elected to the house and the senate and that may be a real block in terms of working with the president. we did see bipartisanship in the tax package. that is going through the senate and the house now. perhaps there is some hope that we will do better. there is not a single member of congress who does not understand the economic opportunity in -- and jobs are our number one priority. you solve that problem, you will win a lot of elections. >> what is your advice to the presumptive speaker, john

boehner? >> my advice is that he needs to listen to everybody. he will be forced by the conservative movement in bay -- and the house republicans to be strident in terms of what he is doing. he is a very good leader and did a great job on another child left behind. he put it together with george miller and ted ted kennedy. he has the capability of doing that he has to keep his ear to the ground and keep his republican leadership together. he needs to talk to mitch mcconnell on a regular basis and keep sampling what is needed by republicans. he will have to stand up to some of the republicans around the country who want to go further in terms of their politics in terms of doing something good for the country. he needs to create legislation which will show that he has created that economic after -- opportunity which is vital to politics in america today.

>> do you agree with no earmarks? >> i more or less agree with it. does that mean the white house will be able to spend that money on anything they want? i am more about what the replacement for it will be. there has to be middle ground solution. one of them is leadership by members of the appropriations committee and they should not be getting big bonanzas of earmarks were freshmen members will not get anything. earmarks are not all bridges to know where. sometimes they fund roads and in some cases they create economic opportunity. there are some good things in the so-called earmarks. unfortunately, the way it has been played in the e press inarmarks have taken on a negative connotation. somebody needs to sit down and figure out how we can spend money properly which will truly

help in the home districts and be beneficial to the country and not just say it is and earmarks. >> the house is about to about a tax cut a deal negotiated by president obama with the republicans. back in 2003 when president bush asked for these tax cuts, you initially opposed the idea of it but then, in the end, but for once the package was reduced to about $350 billion and included about $20 billion in aid to the states. giving your concerns about the deficit and the voters' concerns about the deficit, why will you vote for this package? >> i will vote for the package and will vote for it because this is a set of tax legislation that the country has been living with. i don't think in these economic

times today it is a good time to pull the rug out from under. perhaps a better economic times one could do that. in addition, if you don't have economic activity, you will have no revenue coming in at all. we need to be careful about that. i am concerned that if we increase taxes at this point, you will affect employers and individuals who might invest money in the economy. i am not sure that is a good time to do this. i have not learned all the details. i have to read more about this. this is a limited period of time. it will be revisited in a couple of years and decisions can be made3 . the resolution on the estate tax is sound. people with lesser assets will not have to pay the estate tax as you get to the higher estate people, they will pay estate tax now which is good. there are some good concepts in

the legislation. i think it needs to move forward. i am pleased that president obama and the republican leadership sat down and work this out to get a pair that deserves a pat on the back in terms of where the country is going. >> you have served on the house financial services committee. spencer baccus will take over that committee. he wants to roll back dodd-frank and financial reform. what is your reaction? >> you probably won't roll it back. it probably won't happen. present obama is still in the white house and he can't veto that. spencer is correct that there are effects of that legislation that should be reviewed. does the consumer affairs council have to much power? are there other things that should be looked at? i feel the same way about the health care bill. you cannot repeal it but you

can't look at the components of that bill. most of us feel they could have done more with medical malpractice reform which would produce more revenue for some of the health care people in the country, hospitals, doctors, etc. perhaps we can reduce the cost of reimbursement by the government and save money that way. things have to be done in both of those pieces of legislation. many of these bills are very complicated. my sense is that both of those bills would have been much better served by dividing them up into parts in the amending process and it did not happen that way. it happened in a big push to get the whole thing done. i don't think it was greeted quite the way legislation should be created in america. >> where you come down on the legality of the individual mandates and whether or not congress has the authority under the commerce clause? >> i have never wanted to be a

judge in my life. the answer tohat that is. i followed the court rulings on this. i assume it will be a supreme court decision before it is all said and done. we will have to live with it. i voted against the health care legislation but i stated and i got politically criticized that it is now past, it is the block and we need to make it work as well as possible. -- it is the law and we need to make it work as well as possible. somebody has to go back and look how we can do the health care changes and make it work. if they say you can't have the individual mandates, we need to make sure that works as well as possible in this country. i believe that we should keep our eyes on that legislation and make changes. i'm talking about both political parties and the white house.

we need to make changes as necessary to make sure it is as inexpensive as possible and move forward from there but hopefully some people will be able to get health care who don't get it today. hopefully, there will be some cost savings in this system. frankly, medicare and medicaid, if they continue at the rates of increase they have, are going to be fatal to the budget of the united states of america about you work with democrats and no child left behind. reauthorization happens this year. >> what is your concern for this legislation? what do you think will be to raise that should not be changed in that legislation? >> i believe arne duncan has done a good job with that legislation. he has approached differently. he has been meeting with republicans and democrats together to discuss what the needs are. we have been trying to move

legislation in a bipartisan way. that continues, i think there is an improvement of improving no child left behind. the governors are making suggestions in terms of what the standards should be and maybe the assessments of the testing is to be looked at. there are a few other things and i believe that everybody can stay together and good legislation should come from that. this is not a republican or democratic issue. it is all about educating kids and everybody has to set aside their political differences and concentrate on what we can do to make sure we are educating as well as possible. >> the president is about to announce his assessment of what is going on in afghanistan. i'm curious about your vote on the surge in 2007 for iraq. you voted against it and some say it worked for it is what turned iraq iran.

do you regret that about? >> no, i don't regret that. i am not sure that is what work. ed. if there was clear evidence that it turned it around, i would regret that. i have been to iraq and i felt it is a manageable situation. i don't feel the same way about afghanistan. i have also been fair but i read about it and i talk and listen to people who know more than i do and i'm very concerned about the manageability of the country. it is a troubled country and is not used to have it a central government. i don't know how we are going to lead to there and not have the taliban try to take over again. afghanistan is very worrisome and our relationship with pakistan is a part of that. that is very worrisome. i will listen to the president

and i will listen to critics carefully on that issue. i hope congress does as well. i believe afghanistan is potentially problematic for a number of years to come. >> do you think that could be the issue that dominates 2012? >> it could be a significant issue in 2012. i think the economy will still be the number one issue in 2012 but i believe the afghanistan situation and foreign policy will be a very significant issue in that election. >> who would you like to see run as president from the republican party in 2012? >> that is a good question and i am not sure i'm ready to answer that. i have always been impressed by mitt romney. i felt he could -- did good things in massachusetts and he has his feet on the ground. i believe that tim pawlenti, the governor of minnesota, has also had a good track record and has done a good job.

i do not support sarah palin. i do not feel that she has the qualities that are needed to be president. i'm not happy about the fact that she walked out of the governorship of alaska. i am not sure that the others being mentioned are going to be able to get there. newt gingrich and mike huckabee just won't get there. johnm thune is a competent guy. he is potentially a vice president candidate in this election. that is a possibility. i would not be totally be surprised to have somebody come in from right field we have not heard about yet. >> all the names you mentioned, to me, are more conservative than you. >> they probably all are more conservative than i m. mitt romney has gone from being more moderate to a little more conservative in recent years.

my sense is that the republican candidate for president will be more conservative than i am and he will get republican support and he or she will have to be more conservative than i am. i expect a person to be at least relatively conservative. the conservatives have good and sound ideas. you have to be thoughtful and sometimes flexible in terms of what you are doing and willing to work with other people. those individuals have that ability. >> some and the tea party movement of what republicans to work with the other side. can a republican candidate in 2012 ignore the tea party moment? >> you are right about them. they tell what anybody to work with anybody else on the other side. i would hope that the tea party

people would understand that the republican party needs to nominate a candidate that can win and that is more important than perfect ideological views from where they are coming from. we saw this in delaware. we dominated a candidate -- we nominated 8 tea party candida against me, a very conservative candidate from the state house of representatives and we got clobbered in our state. that was one of our worst defeat ever. we saw that in nevada where there was a good chance that they would have a republican pickup. the tea party candidate was not up to win that particular race. perhaps in a few other states as well. the tea party needs to be very careful and judicious in their selection of candidates and what areas they go into in these various races and hopefully, this election has taught them what they can do and what perhaps they should not be doing.

>> you co-founded the mainstream republican group 1998. you are now part of this no labels group. is there any solution in your thinking? >> not really. i have been involved in moderate republican politics for some time. we had a tuesday group. i got involved with amo houton. these are fundraising entities and helping moderate candidates. i think they are doing a good job. no labels is a different thing. it is just starting and it is not a political party. it is basically a movement. they had their first major meeting in new york and mayor bloomberg and others including myself spoke their at that session and their concept is that we need to work together as republicans and democrats.

their slogan is not right, not left, so i agree with that concept. will they be successful and a counterbalance to a tea party or whatever it may be? i don't know the answer to that but there are good people involved in it. they have raised substantial amounts of money and a deal with people from both political parties. there is some chance they will make inroads and be a factor. >> are you helping with the effort to raise money? where are they getting this money from? >> i am not helping with the raising of money. they are getting it from individuals who are very interested in terms of what they are doing. from all over the country. i don't know how much money they are getting. the people organizing it are volunteers but there are a lot of young people on their staff who are paid. they are doing fairly well with that. i have never really liked to raise money.

>> what is your role? >> i went up and participated in a seminar and spoke to them. i keep an eye on it and i encourage them. i have no agenda. i think it is a movement that needs to be recognized in america. >> what is next for you? >> i don't know what is next. i have talked to a variety of people. the next decision is do i live in wilmington or washington. i would rather live in wilmington. i have been talking to law firms and others about working with them. i probably will run for political office again. my wife made that clear i hope to stay involved and be able to help a little bit with my party. i hope to do something that will keep the wolves away from the door is. >> your favorite car -- your

least favorite part about congress is raising money. >> i had a fellow who help me with this for years. i did not do this directly. i rarely make phone calls. that was not a favorite thing but the schedule is the most difficult part of congress. i live by train about an hour and a half away in wilmington, delaware and it was still difficult. i would try to take trains almost night. m --ost nights. these people live in montana or wyoming, i feel sorry for them. i give the republican leadership credit. they put out a schedule which i believe is two weeks in and one week off. that will be more definitive in terms of what you will be doing and easier to plan your life. it got very tough around here. we have a 15-minute votes and

they go on for 40 minutes. the five minute votes go on for about 10 minutes i think if somebody could bring a downgavel and keep things moving, that would be better. the whole process encumbers i found to be annoying. i am not alone in that. most members of congress might say that. >> what is your favorite memory? >> mostly people and helping people. i enjoyed the members of congress. i found them to be basically diligent and honest people on both sides of the aisle. i enjoyed having a chance to go to the white house from time to time. helping people at home was tremendously important to me. my staff was imported. i have had very good step felt over these years and that has been really tremendous and i have enjoyed that greatly.

it has been a fun experience. the best is being governor of the state. i enjoy being governor of delaware more than anything i have ever done. >> the first line of your bio on the website is that you are a direct descendant of benjamin franklin. >> i am. said the gene pool dies out in three generations. >> was that something the camelot? >> i don't talk about it much and it did not come up much. people know it. >> you did not use it to your advantage? >> my family was involved in benjamin franklin and my grandmother on -- my grandfather on my mother's side had benjamin franklin paraphernalia. they have some debts so that had

to be sold off to pay some debts. i got back -- and i think that was the reason i was elected to anything. >>it is the wiki bio, i should have mentioned. mike castle, thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> in the next congress, the delaware seat will be filled by john carney. what does he and the rest of the 112 congress is sworn in when the house reconvenes on wednesday, at noon eastern time. we will have live coverage here on c-span and c-span.org. "washington journal" is next. in about 45 minutes, author and talk show host william bennett on the future of the republican party. deep water" the"porte