dream? caller: i do not think so. i think it is gone. i am on medicare and also supported in social security. if i had a house payment, i would free. host: to you think it is the role of the federal government toelp people get a home? caller: that will have to. it will be that or 20 people living in the apartments. it is scary. host: you said if you had a housing pment today, you would be out on the street. how much was your payment? caller: $125. my house now, they're renting for $500 a month. i could not do it. just could not do it.

ast: let's hear fromteve, renter in arlington, virginia. caller: i think the premise is incorrect. i think the american dream is to give your children a better opportunity than you had. that is why immigrants come to our country. it is what we strive for as citizens. host: ok, so about owning a home, you think that is not the american dream. caller: it might be a target, it ght be in and resolve, but the primary part of the american dream is just doing better by your children. host: so you think that the government has no role in this? caller: the government has a very lite role in much at all,

yes. host: let's go to vancouver, jim is joining us. caller: i don't think that question is is that still the american dream. i think it should be is it feasible to even buy a home with the market in the past few years. host: are you a homeowner? caller: no, i am a renter, i military and i bounced around a lot. but this is what i have seen of the american dream as far as owning a home. first, the elderly are not given any tax breaks. when people get between the age of 55 and 65 and start having problems with their health care, i have had family members who had to sell eir homes to cover the cost their health care. not to mention the taxes and not bloating of the market to sell.

washington watched the market get inflated with nothing to regulate it. now people are you losing their homes left and right. and another issue,e do not have an economy. host: have you looked into possibly buying a home? i know you are in the military and bounce around. but as an investment? caller: i did back in 2004. the air force had been stationed in tucson, arizona. i was down there i year earlier and i took a look at some nice starter up, 2-bedroom homes going for $75,000. i thought that would be a good investment. when i got myself transferred a year later, the same homes were going for twice that. and then when these real estate brokers were telling me that i qualified, i am thinking to

myself, the math is not working. and that is what these people were trying to do, scare me into buying. they kept saying things, if you do not buy now, you never will be able to. and when you see everyone's way dropping as the housing industry goes through the roof, you know of som point, someone is going to be pulling the market out from underneath there. i was around during the savings- and-loan scandal with john mccain. they did not do anything to correct the problems. they shifted the scam. host: what have you been doing with your savings and you have been a renter? caer: most of my savings are put into the bank. but with today's housing and banking market, you can only get 0.25% interest.

when i fst target saving kid -- money as a kid, i got 6%. th mentality of the people, it is a big disconnect between main street and wall street. wall street is basically trying to figure out every way were they can get as much money out of the consumer as possible, no matter how crabby the product. host: we go on to the democratic line. viola is joining us. you are on the air. caller: yes, i have a question. i asked my husband, major migraine question. i think it got so bad that the a has treated him. he had to take early retirement.

he was a soldier and is not quite what he was. host: what does this have to do with housing? caller: he ended up overdosing from the madison the va gave him. and i called 911 and took him down, but they would not accept him away. they turned him away and would notreat him no more. and he wasent back home, and he committed suicide because they are -- because he always thought the army would protect him. he had protected them for so long and that they would surely protect him, but that was not what happened.

and just after that, i am diagnosed with lou gehrig's disease. host: we are sorry to hear about your situation. let's go on to sally, an independent in california. is owning a home still the american dream? caller: not under this situation, absolutely not. the woman had a lot of pain with her situation. but we need to shift in this country. i am a conservative fully trained accountant, and in the area i live, its very expensive. you're looking at $4 a square foot as a renter, which is ridiculous. we need to completely shut out ideas about transportation and housing. -- a shift our ideas about transportation and housing. we're going to have a transient work force and we need to shift

our perspective about the belongings that we are lugging around and the rules about housing. in other words, we need to be able to own a piece of property, be able to direct alternative forms of housing on the property within a certain set of rules by men is a palace, but they need to change the building codes to allow transitional housing that people can generate by communities on their own. host: what happens right now, those municipal codes that prevent transitional housing? caller: you have the housing industry, the builders and all that, these huge lobbies to put these regulations and the place. host: what are they? caller: the building materials that you can use.

i do notnow the actual details. but they are locked up by lobbyists from the building industries. it is all to keep in place thi whole dynamic of the 30-year mortgage. what has happened in this country is that now we are -- i saw this coming 20 years a. we are on an eveninglay infield with the rest of the world. the cost of housing has got to come in line into the reality that most of us will be transitional wkers, no longer the company jobs. host: what does transitional housing look like? caller: you could have cob houses, straw bale housing, much more affordable materials. and it is going to be based on the weather patterns of the

regions, but it has to be allowed within these municipalities. host: we will keep taking your phone calls. some more headlines. this is the cause of " usa today" about sarah palin and her speculation. palin told cnn yesterday that she would definitely had to iowa. she was quoted as saying that she was sure she would go to iowa at some point. she is coming in to% perceage points behind mitt romney. romney is expected formally announce later this week. she told chris wallace on sunday they she could win the presidency if she chose to run. cnn out with a new poll showing

that mitt romney would win if he were to get into the race. romney came in second, juliani about 16%, from the 15%, and palin comes in third in this latestoll at 13%. more about politics coming up this morning at 7:45 a.m., talking about 20 to politics than. but we will keep ting your phone calls about owning a home. in a minute, this editorial from the "washington times" about a vote happening this week in the house. one of the things that democrats like about high umployment is the ability to dole out of to 99 weeks' worth of free money to those without jobs.

here is the "new york times" territory. the economy needs more help but health -- help is not forthcoming. if washington will not do what needs to be done, there can be things done to keep the economy from getting worse.

mike is a republican in virginia. your our next phone call on the issue on whether owning a home is still the american dream. what do you think? caller: i hope it is still the american dream. my wife and i are both retired and we had a good income. we are able to afford our house. we're making about a third of what we used to make. powerhouse lost some by you, and yet it is still more the what are mortgages worth. we are hopeful. we're concerned about our children.

my son is renting a house in a rented by situation. host: how does that work? caller: he wants to buy a home eventually. i am hopeful that people will still look at buying a house. i understand the ladies. , sally, she had a lot of fantastically good points. but most pple do not want to be transient, moving from place to place. they want to settle down in one community and establish ties there. their children can go to good schools. housing, living in a good neighborhood, those are things that people still aspirto. we want to live in a good neighborhood with good schools. we want to see our children educated. we want to see our grandchildren educated. i am hoping that people still believe in buying houses. granted, the economy is terrible.

and we would like to see that change. i think that arcle that you had where people, hundreds of thousands of people could refinance at a lower rate, and thereby encourage spending, it would make the economy better. but i do not know that they would refinance my house, considering my age, d everything. host: that is the "new york times" if there auctoal, their opinion. let me tell you about this survey. 76% of adults feel that they're more manages to renting versus hundred 64% cited having the responsibility for major repairs as the major region. -- the main reason.

those of the latest statistics. we will go to andrew in boulder, colorado, a democrat. go ahead. caller: i wanted to make that comment, and i could be completely wrong about this, i am not terribly familiar with the housing market, but it does seem to me that we have politicians counting that regulation is socialism and we cannot be doing that. but this is a situation in which regulation would have helped us and would have prevented th situation that we are in. host: sally as a renter in pennsyania. caller: thank you for taking my call this morning. i just want to comment that in order to -- we actually need

three working adults to make our rent. i know that you think that the issue is that we need reform in financing, bause the average person needs to have about 20% down in order to buy. and there are not enough programs with the government to help you do that. years ago when i was a first- time home buyer, there was a program that my husband and i qualifiedor, or the government help us with closing costs. they helped us with a down payment. and then there was a 20% forgiveness on that which we eventually did not have to pay back. i think those programs are so much harder to qualify for now. and also, i do no think that the government has a real -- no real understanding, because i believe that the average government pull things that the

average household makes $67,000 a year. host: you think it is a lot lower. caller: absolutely. we have three adults working here, and our combined income is that. so it is very unrealistic that the government thinks that the average person is making $65,000-$70,000. it takes three adults working to make our rent payment and pay all of our bills and have a light. host: who is in your household at you have three? caller: my son contributes and my boyfriend and i. host: how old is your son? caller: 23.

host: could he not afford his own place? caller: i think it is a convenience for him but i do not believe that he is ready to go out and up for his own place, no. host: another statistic for you. let me show you a recent story that appeared on fox news about a proposal being floated by house replicans. lawmakers have not introduce the bill but a discussion draft calls for significant changes, particularly, a provision increasing the minimum down payment on an fha-backed loan from 3.5% to 5%.

also, other headlines for you this morning. the front page of the "miami herald." this is a story in many of the papers. martin dempsey will leave the joint chiefs. he announced that yesterday. this is the front page of the "miami herald." we will talk about national security issues at 8:30 a.m. with bill gertz, the national security editor for the "washington times." this story about afghanistan. a big factor in troop withdrawals. $113 billion for this year. parts of the conflict. too high. it says, the military is on track to spend $113 billion on its operations in afghanistan this fiscal year and is seeking one of its $70 billion -- 107

billio for the next. related to that story is the "wall street journal." violence clouds u.s. pullout plans in afghanistan. you've seen the recent reports of violence in that country. andy "wall street journal" has the story -- "cyber combat act of war -- it can constitute an act of war, a finding that for the first time opens the door for the u.s. to respond using traditional military force. if you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks. that is at the "washington -- wall street journal." richard, you are on the air. caller: thankouor the opportunity and taking my call. the american dream is

opportunity. opportunity to have the ability to advance in your job and your position or to whether you want. that opportunity is supposed to be there, the constitution, the founding fathers, that is what they talked about, to raise your standard old living above the generations before you, like your parents. it has been taking away basically by our government and debt and manipulating the government, at injecting themselves into the housing market. if you take three entities out of what happened to housing market, the pathology that came from congress,he federal reserve, and freddie and mac, the housing market would be steady and stable today, and stabilize. we do not have that because, and also opportunity has disappeared

alonwith it. that is why we have the ability to buy a home, send their kids to college, and buy new cars, that iall disappearing. what we're seeing is that of third world -- third world country economics. host: we're listening, richard. caller: that is about all i have to say. host: we will move onto gregory and los angeles, a democratic caller. caller: thank you for the opportunity to comment. the challenges that i see is that the market was inflated based on false appreciation. it was based on market demand. the purchasing or the buying of the homes became so overwhelming that demand pushed every other part of our economy. it pushed the cost of cars,

rentals, and renters right now are probly paying a higher rate than most people on mortgages. it is all based on that same inflation of purchasing in the housing market. they are making adjustments to the homeownership, the interest rates, but they -- nothg has changed for the housing and rental markets. i think it is sad. host: if you do not want to call in, you can have the coersation with our fellow viewers on twitter. go to @cspanwj, or you can send us an e-mail. let me read eight weeks from james parker duse's -- here is an e-mail that says --

sterling, a renter in fairfax, virginia. you are on the air. caller: hi, how are you? thank you for taking my call. host: is owning a home still the american dream? caller: i do not think so. i agree with your last caller about the inflation issue. supply and demand will bring housing prices back down so i am waiting until then. host: do you think you have enough to buy a home but you are sitting out for now? caller: i think that my wife and i could buy a house of we really wanted to, but we would have to

stretch ourselves then. i think that is largely because your last caller's comments about the inflation and housing market. we are going to wait. host: will be the key indicator for you? caller: from what i hear, markets are supposed to drop down because they are still above the 100-year averages. i would wait until prices came back down another 20% to 30%, but i am also waiting because the possible downturn of the real estate market would cause even more trouble for the rest of the economy. host: what about interest rates being so low? any fears are concerns that they would go back up? caller: i wish that they would go back up. i think that is what is causing the housing market to stay so high.

host: we will go to the andover, new >> leaving "washington journal" here to go live to the state kining room where president obama is set to nominate john brighton as commerce skect. >> i am pleased to announce i will nominate john brighton to be our nation's next commerce secretary. john is somebody who will bring to this job a wealth of experience in the public and in the private sectors. but in my mind nothing has prepared him more for this demanding role, a role that requires delicate diplomacy, complex negotiations, and careful management of folks with strong views than being the father of four daughters. they are all here today as is john's wife, louise, and i'm sure john agrees that louise gets the credit for how wonderfully they have turned out. as commerce secretary, john is going to be an important part of my economic team, promoting american business and american

products across the globe. by working with companies here at home and representing america's interests abroad, i'm confident he's going to help us meet the goal of -- that i set of doubling our nation's exports. in this new role, john will be able to draw on decades of business experience across a range of industries. from his role on the boards of major companies like disney and boeing, to his leadership in the clean energy industry. that's the expertise that will help us create new jobs and make america more competitive in the global economy. of course john will be building on the success of outgoing commerce secretary, gary locke who has tirelyly advanced american leadership abroad. he has an agreement with china where gary will be serving as our next ambassador. we couldn't be prouder of him and confident that he is going to be doing an outstanding job there. in the years ahead a key to

achieving our export goal will be promoting clean energy in america. that's how we'll reduce our dependence on foreign oil and that's how we'll encourage new businesses and jobs to come to our shores. john understands this better than virtually anybody. throughout a distinguished career in which he's led nonprofits, government agencies, and large companies he's been a fierce proponent of alternative energy. as a young man with a gree -- degree in hand from a prestigious law school, john then followed his friends to a blue chip law firm, john took a chance on an idea he cared about and co-founded the natural resources defense council, which grew into a powerful and important voice in protecting the safety of our air and water. it was then john caught the eye of a young california governor named jerry brown. i'm not sure what happened to that guy, but for john it led to leadership positions in government where he got a firsthand look at the real life

impact of energy and environmental policies from water conservation to electricity production. later, in the private sector, he rose to become the chairman and c.e.o. of edison international, one of the nation's largest utility companies. john headed the company for almost 20 years, during which time he helped edison become a leader in solar and wind power and innovative approaches to proving the profitablity of clean energy. just before he retired from the company, he launched a plan to turn 65 million square feet of unused commercial rooftops into solar power stations, the largest array in the country, with enough electricity for more than 160,000 homes. today he advises companies around the world as a business leader who understands what it takes to innovate, to create jobs, and to persevere through tough times. and he continues to carry himself with the integrity and sense of responsibility that guided him his entire life. this experience and these

qualities will serve our nation well, as john takes on yet another tough assignment in his career. so, i want to thank gary again for his extraordinary service. he has done an outstanding job while at commerce, and, john, i am grateful to you for your willingness to soy. i look forward to working with you and i know you will help us deliver the kinds of growth, prosperity, and job creation here in america that we all want. thank you very much, both of you. >> thank you very much, mr. president. thank you very much. >> president obama this afternoon naming businessman john brighton as his choice to replace outgoing commerce secretary, gary locke. mr. locke. expected to take over as ambassador to china later this year.

mr. bryson has a background in environmental issues and served on a united nations advisory group on energy and climate change. coming up at 2:00, the house is expected to return for a short time. only to recess again until legislative business starts at 4:45 this afternoon. members are expected to debate raising the nation's debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion. votes on this legislation expected at 6:30 eastern. you can follow that debate and vote live here on c-span. also coming up live a hearing on global perspectives of autism. that begins at 2:00 p.m. eastern live from capitol hill. can you see it on c-span2. and also at 2:00 a hearing on security of the nation, the electrical grid and infrastructure. witnesses include representatives from the energy department, live coverage of that on our companion network, c-span3. the house returning at 2:00 p.m. eastern. until then a look at funding for the u.s. military from today's "washington journal." inues.

host: bill gertz is the national security editor with the "washington times." let's begin with the change of leadership at the obama administration. the president announced that general dempsey will take over of the joint chiefs of staff. >> martin dempsey is one of our nation's most respected and combat-tested generals. in iraq, he led our soldiers against the brutal insurgency. he knows the nation's must take responsibility for their own bread soaked -- responsibility for their own security. he understands that in iraq and the contestant, security gains and the progress must go hand in hand. just as the challenge to the army to embrace a new tactics, i expect him to push all of our forces to be ready for the

missions of today and tomorrow. host: bill gertz, the "washington times" says after two months, the president has now made him the head of the joint chiefs. who is martin dempsey of what we know about him? guest: he is the army chief of staff. this will clearly give the army prominence within the small circle of top military advisers. i think the real story here is who did not get the job who was general car right who was considered obama's favorite general. he lost out in a big political battle with the current chairman as well as the current, outgoing defense secretary bob gates. it is very interesting. it was a matter of a lot of people felt car right was a brilliant general but was not considered a team player. he clashed with mullen and gates

on strategy in afghanistan. he was still a well-connected to the president and in and on the osama bin laden secret operation. he also had some personal issues related to his family life, some questions there. it was a classic washington political battle. host: what is it about general car right the cost of this controversy? guest: the whole question is and this gets into the real interworking. should we have a counter- terrorism strategy and afghanistan or a counter insurgency strategy? the issue is should we go after al-qaeda or rebuild afghanistan? that is the debate that is taking place right now and is at the forefront of all the issues related to troop levels and defense spending. host: what does it mean that general density is now the joint

chiefs? guest: is not clear. we do not know his views on this internal battle. again, kind of the larger issues here is what to do with resetting the force? that is going to be his big challenge. president obama said he was going to cut defense spending by $400 billion over 12 years. defense secretary bob gates has given three different comments recently warning that the military could be hollowed out by unwise defense spending cuts. host: that is the headline from may 25 front page of the washington times. he is reaching back to the 1970's. guest: during the 1970's and

again in the 1990's under first the carter administration and then the clinton administration, steep cuts were made in defense spending, and the military began moving in the direction of being a hollow force. your military is not ready for war. that has been the high point of our military, that we are ready for any battle. he is warning that we could face a hollowed out military if we do not have these defense cuts properly. host: he and others have said that our debt is our biggest national security threat. how do you square those two things? guest: and that gets into the bigger issue of how we fix the economy. the zero economies is a problem.

the argument being made that defense can be part of the solution to that problem but it should not be the only solution. there are real fears within the obama administration that it is basically being to the left of center is going to go after the military with a vengeance in terms of defense spending cuts and programs. we are going to be hearing a lot of debate in the coming weeks from the capitol hill and the house. host: that is the issue on the front page this morning -- $130 billion for this year. guest: this is getting back to the argument of what should be the strategy in afghanistan. typically, the strategy has been at nation-building. we are busily building a country from scratch. host: that is called a counter

insurgency? guest: the strategy is designed to counter the insurgency by rebuilding the nation. the counterterrorism strategy has a much lower footprint which is focusing on using special operation forces to go after terrorists on a much smaller scale than actually rebuilding the entire country. who is in which camp? guest: it is been reported that the joe biden is leading the charge for the smaller footprint strategy, and others like general petraeus and gates have been arguing let's do the nation-build and strategy. host: for those who have said the military is on the table, it would seem that a drawdown from afghanistan would fit the bill, of the recipe for getting the

debt and the deficit under control. guest: i think that is the thrust of the people speaking to newspapers today. if you or hearing voices from the white house saying it is not going to just be a battle over the counter terrorism and counter insurgency. it is the fact that we are running out of money. that has been my view of these conflicts, that basically they are very, very expensive, billions of dollars. the figure in the article said it was like $1 million per soldier deployed in afghanistan. it is very expensive to do these operations. now the argument is being made that we cannot afford it anymore. host: new political pressure on obama much of it from fellow democrats.

guest: yes. this is a reflection of the debate in congress. over fiscal conservatism vs defending our values and objectives overseas. host: what about the foot side of that, the concerned about day being viewed not supporting the troops if you want to draw down because of costs? guest: the arguments are being made on both sides that if you do not want to continue funding the operation, you are somehow working against the military. it is very typical in washington. host: how will that play out on capitol hill? guest: is going to be interesting. you have a republican-controlled house which is originating a lot of the defense bills, if you

have a democratically-controlled senate, which to me is the formula that you will bossy a lot of big changes taking place. the house bill gets worked over in the senate, and then the real work gets down. when they hash out all the differences -- it is going to be hard to predict how these issues will fare. host: this is the washington post numbers.

host: talk about that figure. thguest: the figures speak for themselves. do you want to cut and run? do you want to give up and say we cannot do this because it is too hard? that is going to be at the core of it. right now, we are still working on of the surge. this was supposed to be able to make real gains. it worked in iraq and that is not clear if it is working in afghanistan. that will be a big challenge. host: and independent in dallas, texas, you are on the air with bill gertz. caller: good morning. i would like to ask a question.

on september 10, 2001, donald ross filled announced a trillion dollar loss by the pentagon -- announced afilumsfeld trillion dollar loss by the pentagon. it has never been discussed. guest: i an not familiar with that statement having covered rumsfeld back then. i think he was referring to a lot of the fray -- at a lot of the fraud, waste, and abuse in the pentagon. the latest effort is an attempt at efficiencies under the current administration. they are trying to save money by becoming more efficient at the pentagon. i am a bit skeptical that it will be successful. the way that they do business is

the way they do business. people have tried to change it and have not succeeded. host: why has it not succeeded to have some sort of auditing of the books? guest: this is an enormous institution, a very difficult challenge to try to get this thing under control. my own view is a government bureaucracy is definitely out of control. i think that is why we see the tea party movement developing. host: budget cuts and defense spending are our topic. we are with bill gertz of the "washington times." michael is joining us from hawaii on our independent line. you are next. caller: good morning. my question is for you, bill. i believe that general

cartwright should have been -- i wanted to ask you about that and the astronomical $100 billion plus money towards this war. i would like to get your input on that please. guest: we are addressing that someone. general cartwright is not a combat veteran. i think that is one factor. certainly, he has had a remarkable career. no one questions his amazing service, but people had differences with his outlook. for example, there right now is a debate in the pentagon on how to deal with the emergence of china. it is not get attention with all

the other issues going on. the pentagon is fighting whether our forces should be structured to deal with high end conventional conflicts with china or to refocus as defense secretary gates has done on these counter insurgency conflicts or what some critics call general custard type indian wars. that is the debate that is going on. general cartwright was suppose in some of the military efforts to build up conventional forces for dealing with the growing military problem of china. host: what is the role of the joint chiefs? guest: the chairman is the principal military adviser to the president. the chiefs themselves have a role of also being part of heading their services as the top general in charge of their services. they are the ones that confer on

all the issues, the big money issues and the force issues. host: so they are big picture strategy, philosophy? what do you make of this front page story? guest: yeah, this is a new area that the military has recently entered with the standing up of the u.s. cyber command which is up the parkway here at fort meade. basically, the military is looking for how to deal with these issues. they are very complex and very much shrouded in legal issues. how do you define these issues?

are they conflicts that would relate to the military? are the intelligence that would relate to intelligence gathering? there are still legal issues that have not been sorted out. on the other hand, you have the problem of most of the civilian infrastructure is in the military's hands. they are beginning to deal with this. but they have issued a number of strategy papers. it is a growing area of concern. the big problem is being able to identify or attribute the source of an attack. they are getting better at it but they are still not there yet. you have to find out who is attacking you, and most of the attackers know how to mask their attacks. they take over a computer system in finland to conduct an attack. a lot of these attacks are coming from china and russia.

of course, that is really where they are beginning to look at some of the big strategic cyber threats. host: the wall street journal says this as well. guest: i think the story is probably overstating it a little bit. stating that you are going to take military action in response to a is a bird attack is one of many options on the scale. you would have to consider what sort of an attack would warrant a military strike on another country. clearly, they are looking across the spectrum of different things. the internet is basically a lawless environment, and people

are beginning to understand defending your systems is going to be a never ending process. they are beginning to look at how you go on the offense. host: internationally, the rules of war are such that how would that -- how with the united states say if someone cyber attacks us, how can you retaliate? the guest: you have the inherent right of self-defense if you are under attack. you can take defensive measures including military action to defend yourself. they are extending that to include our networks and computer systems. host: is the unit states looking it other countries and what they do to get an agreement? guest: there has not been a lot of consensus on this because i think a lot of states are beginning to set up their own military cyber units. the chinese last week announced

they have what they call a cyber warrior unit. that was a very unusual revelation for the very secretive jennies. we do not know much about a lot of the other countries, but many of them are moving in this direction to create an area for international discussions on controls of cyber attacks. host: let's go to dave in denver. caller: i have a question. since our military mission has changed in the last 10 years, with budget cuts and defense spending, can we reduce those by cutting back or closing overseas bases that were established for the cold war? guest: well, a lot of that has been done. at the bottom line is the u.s. has a major, a global strategic responsibilities especially to

allies. japan comes to mind. i think japan does not really have its own military, relying heavily on the u.s. we have international commitments. i think the real cost of defense spending, in which you talk about pensions and health care. i think secretary gates has said recently the costs are just astronomical to maintain these. these are the promise -- this was the promise made to our military men and women that they would take care of those things. these are the things that are the real expensive units. i think there are a lot of concerns that we will not be able to fulfil these international responsibilities. a lot of nations count on the unit states and its military to protect freedom of navigation, to provide a deterrent to would- be aggressors, and the kind of thing. host: the annual reauthorization

bill was approved by the house last week, and part of that included increases in fees for retired workers to help curb spending for the department. guest: at the costs are going up. this is going to be -- the question is how can you pay for everything? how can we afford it? host: the senate has yet to take up the defense authorization bill and plans to do so next month. we will go to john in the wisconsin, an independent caller. caller: you have been talking about the issue of costs of the military. since we have a large defense budget and a large national deficit, i see the signs all the time that we support the troops

, cut my taxes. i do not know how you have military spending and constantly put it on a credit card. i am generally pretty conservative, but it does bother me who our nieces could be paying for the worse now. guest: it is not just the wars that it will be paying for. it is overall government spending. that is part of the debate. guns and butter. how do you manage to have irresponsible federal government budget when you do not have enough money? i do not have all the answers to that. i definitely come down on the side of supporting our national defense. i believe the united states has a major mission in the world and it needs to continue fulfilling that mission. the host: this tweet coming n -- guest: no, it hasn't.

host: where do things stand with our actions in libya? guest: the administration used in certain provisions that allowed it to conduct military operations without having to go to congress to give formal authorization. we know that was also an issue after 9/11. the bush administration used basically a resolution as the basis for its war powers. this is a constant debate in washington over the war powers act and it will continue. host: san antonio, florida. caller: i have a question. if a gang attacks us, would we

go to their countries and occupied it like we do overseas? host: what is your point? caller: that is my question. if these higher power country terrorist groups look to attack us, would we do the same thing that we are doing to the middle east? guest: i would certainly think that the chinese and noticed the amazing special forces raid on bin laden showing that we have the capability to carry out a military operation in another country successful. whether we would do that, i do not know. i cannot imagine a scenario where we would be doing that, but it is certainly conceivable. you can hypothesize that if terrorists had stolen a nuclear weapon or a device in some other

country, our forces are trained to go after those kinds of things. those are the benefits of other nations as well. host: fairfax, va., republican, dolores. caller: you said that we are in many countries defendant, for example, south korea and japan. should these countries not be paying us to do that for them? i am wondering why this president did not have the foresight, him being so analytical as and they say, to see that we do not have enough money to finish the job. guest: on the first part, yes. the military always once war from nations that also support. most of those countries to pay for some of it, not offsetting

of total cost, but some of it does. i think this is an issue, up as the u.s. plans to transfer and number of troops from okinawa to guam. the japanese government is going to spend billions of dollars to take care of that. host: caller: i am a registered democrat, but i am really leaning towards more of a citizen view. it is apparent to many that a lot of our international affairs really come down to dollars. it appears the me go into these countries where we've said we are going to have a democratic rule, but it appears a a we are leaving this "washington journal" segment at this point. you can see it any time on line at c-span.org.

u.s. house is returning for what we expect will be just a short time. only to recess again until legislative business at about 4:45 this afternoon. members are expected to debate raising the nation's debt ceiling today by $2.4 trillion. 2/3 majority is needed for passage. we expect votes on that legislation to come up at 6:30 eastern. you'll be able to see the debate and vote here live on c-span. the speaker: the house will be come to order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy.

chaplain conroy: let us pray. almighty god from the universe, we give you thanks for giving us another day. we pray thanksgiving for the thousands of men and women our nation honored this past weekend who have given so much of themselves to the service of our nation. grant them living and dead the peace of your presence. we ask your blessing as well upon the men and women of this the people's house. may they strive with all their energy and good will to serve our nation. to work on legislative solutions to the challenges we face in this time. always mindful that they are entrusted especially with the well-being of so many who are powerless. we know, o god, these little ones are of special interest and concern for you.

bless us this day the chair will entertain

one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, police officer are the last strand of wire in the fence between the law and lawless. they go forward each day to protect the people and risk their own lives doing so. very early sunday morning one of houston's finest, officer kevin will, was investigating a hit and run accident when he was run over and killed by a speeding vehicle that had blazed past bliss barriers.

immediately before being struck, officer will yelled for an accident witness to jump out of the way. thus saving the citizen's live just before the officer's live was stolen from him. officer will was 38 years of age and had been a houston police officer two years. he leaves behind a pregnant wife and two stepchildren. the driver of the speeding vehicle ignored the safety lights of police cruisers at the accident scene. he was drunk, charged with intoxication manslaughter of a police officer, evade arrest, and possession of cocaine. the accused killer was in the united states illegally. having been deported at least once before returning to become one of the lawless. that's just the way it is. some the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? mr. kucinich: madam speaker, i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: why are we in debt? we borrow trillions for wars in

afghanistan and iraq, trillions for tax cuts for the rich. we borrow billions from china and japan, we have plenty of money for war, wall street, and welfare for the wealthy, but when millions of honest americans need jobs, need wage increases, need health care, need education, need retirement security, they are told, no, we don't have the money. how is it that the can create trillions of dollars to give to the banks but the u.s. can't meet its needs without going into debt to banks? the financial system works for a few at the expense of the many. the founders did not intend for america to be run by big banks and wall street. the constitution put the ability to create money in the hands of congress. the fed took awhich -- away that power in 1913. we need to get that power back, to invest in our economy, to create jobs, to put america back to work, to rebuild

america without going into debt. we must reclaim our destiny by reclaiming control over the money system. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. burgess: ask permission to rise, address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. burgess: i thank the speaker. many people didn't notice that a little over three weeks ago that medicare trustees report came out and advised that the medicare program would be in serious difficulty in the year 2023. now, you might ask what is congress doing about this? we have well over 10 years to react. the republican budget that was passed a few weeks ago did indeed lay out a pathway for dealing with the problems in the future, unfortunately the democratic leadership in the other body has decided not to take up any type of road map or pathway that may lead to a resolution of this problem. so we are left with the program

that was essentially laid out by the president in the affordable care act. and this program relies heavily upon a group called the independent payment advisory board. 15 people not elected but appointed by the president, well paid, to sit on a board and to deliver to congress every year a menu of cuts and the amount of money medicare may spend. congress, true enough, has the ability to accept or reject this menu of cuts, but if congress rejects t. it must come up with its own plan. if congress does not agree, when has that ever happened, the secretary of health and human services has the ability to institute those cuts as planned. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> i wish to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to give recognition to an extraordinary young man from my district. mr. cravaack: an 8th grader

from minnesota. connor's advanced to compete in the scripts national spelling bee in washington, d.c., after passing a writing examine and winning two spelling bees. he'll join 257 students from around the country. congressor spends four hours a day studying spelling while remaining active in turge, playing tromo bone in the all minnesota honors band, participating in the builders club with his kiwanis. connor is a shining example of what young people today can accomplish and i wish the best as he moves forward in the competition. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? michigan. without objection, the

gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, over the past couple weeks we have seen an increase in the false attacks on this house's plan to save medicare for future generations and prevent america from falling into an abyss of debt and deficits. these falsehoods represent a new low in political attacks. to those of you who are trying to scare this country's seniors, i shea shame on you. mr. benishek: america deserves better. before coming to congress this year, i spent 25 years as a physician treating patients in northern michigan. many of whom were on medicare. i find it ridiculous that some on the other side of the aisle accuse us of wanting to hurt seniors. the fact is, we put forth a plan that ensures our children and grandchildren who have access to medicare, and doesn't change benefits for those at our near retirement. these false attacks are nothing more than a smokescreen from

the other side. the democrats' plan, obamacare, calls for bankruptcy and rationing. i ask my colleagues on the other side to stop playing politics and do what the american people sent us here to do. work together and face reality. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. culberson: madam speaker, the federal government's highest obligation is to provide for the physical and financial security. people of the united states, fiscal security begins with voter security. and the houston -- people of houston have just suffered a loss, tragic death of another houston police officer. officer kevin will, the sixth houston police officer to lose his life at the hands of an illegal alien. i will not rest, the texas delegation will not rest until the southern border is secure to protect the people of texas, the people of this nation from the drugs, violence, gangs, the

guns, the criminal element coming across the boarder has got to be stopped. this is not complicated. it begins with enforcing existing law. with using the resources we have at our disposal to open up sufficient beds to lock up every illegal alien that crosses the border with the full support of the people that live along the border with zero tolerance. we can do this. it needs to be done up and down the river. this congress, this appropriations committee, and the new republican conservative majority in the house is staying focused n -- on this vital mission of national security beginning with border security to ensure no more law officers like officer will, no more americans lose their lives at the hands of illegal aliens. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to sclause 12-a of rule 1, the house will stand in recess subject to the call of the chair.

and information on the white house, supreme court justices and governors, order online at c-span.org/shop. >> follow c-span's "washington journal" on which is the twitter and join viewers who get

advanced notice of tomorrow's guests. the question of the day -- high profile bookings and links to key highlights. you can also tweet your questions to our guests and add your comments to the conversation. don't miss any updates from "washington journal." start your twitter account today at twitter.com/c-spanwj. and now the media research center announces awards for what it calls the most biased liberal reporting for 2010. presenters include radio talk show host. other speakers include political commentators and virginia attorney general, speaking first is the group's founder and president. from washington, d.c., it's about an hour and 40 minutes. quick programming note, this is this contains language and comments that some viewers may find offensive. >> shut the hell up! >> shut the hell up.

>> shut the hell up. >> ladies and gentlemen, one again -- [inaudible] . >> thank you, keith olbermann, for watching my back again. god, i'm going to miss that man. i would look forward to his next career, but anne and i were talking about it this afternoon, does anyone know where on a tv dial one can find current tv? >> shut the hell up.

>> we're going to have more on good old keith in a moment. but for mao, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the -- now, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2011 dishonor awards. let me try to get a flavor for the -- what audience i'm dealing with here. how many of you believe that you've been here every year since we've done this in 1999? how many? ok. how many of you are new to this? [cheers and applause] all right. how many of you were here last year? we didn't do one last year. bunch of liars. all right. for those of you who are new, including those people who raised their hands, lelt me try to explain how we do this.

we have three presenters who will be presenting a total of five awards. they'll be presenting the finalists and the win withers in five different award categories. when all that's done, we will arrive at the quote of the year and you, ladies and gentlemen, will make the selection for the win wither by noise ac la mation. you will note there are assorted noise makers that have been placed at each table. consider them your personal w.m.d.'s tonight. feel free to use them at any time to voice your displeasure with anything you see or hear here on the podium. and i expect my brother to start right now. tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we rise to new lows and personal decorum. but like a -- [inaudible] commercial weight, there's more. tonight we're also going to be

announcing the winner this one a serious one with, for the 2011 william f. buckley award for excellence in journalism and when all the awards are finished, the evening is just beginning because on the other side of this beautiful and historic building you'll have a special performance by the outlaws. so it's a good evening. [cheers and applause] it's a good evening and those of who you are eating here for free should start feeling guilty right about now. so let's begin. to present our first two awards is a man who needs no introduction except you'd never know who he was. neil borst a radio talk veteran of over 40 years and can be heard on 250 shows nationally with a syndicated radio program. he's been a finalist for many awards, he was a finalist for the 2002 marconi awards for syndicated personal of the year and that year he won the network

personality of the year award from the radio and records magazine. he's the author of several books about liberals and taxes, neither of which he likes. he is our first presenter because -- and this is a true story. i was doing a show about three months ago, four months ago, and on his own program he started to wine. on 250 stations he started wha-wha, why don't you invite me to go on your awarded ceremony? the way only neil can wine. wha-wha. you never invite me. you have sean hanity, you have all those other people, you don't have me. it was so embarrassing. i finally gave in. i had to put an end to this. i said, ok, ok, neil, you can be a presenter. that is why he is a presenter and he is tonight's first presenter. the truth of the matter is, i

was delighted to hear neil say that. he's been a presenter on this program several times before, he's always been a smash hit, he's always been a favorite of mine. if i could i would abuse his friendship every year by asking him to be a presenter. ladies and gentlemen, i give you the very dangerous neil borst. >> i'm going to have so much fun with my granddaughter with that tomorrow. did brent just tell you about the palm beach speech i gave for him? is that what -- he talked about me being a whiner? is that it? when he invited me down there to speak and then i'm sitting in the back with and he's talking about a great hanity and

limbaugh are going to save the world. notice there's no teleprompters. i have trouble with bow ties. thanks, i had to go to anne's room to get the bow tie done. little did i know that andrew has trouble with bow ties also. and apparently suspenders. and shoes. [laughter] i'm going to be selling my new bumper sticker in the back. it's very simple. change you can step in. or change you can scrape off the bottom of your shoe. you know, on halloween you can take some obama change, you put it in a bag, set it on a front porch, set it on fire.

you know, it's been 40 years since they invited me because the last time i was overmedicated and i'm told by -- i embarrassed some people, but you know, i'm old enough that i just really don't give a damn anymore. the first award tonight is the obamagasm award named by l. brent boozell and i'm glad he thought of me to deliver this award. and i have a theory about these obamagasms but it's this liberal fascination with the obamajahideen, the crowd that occupies the white house right now, you know, obama's their perfect, their absolutely ferre

effect man. you look at the way -- perfect man. you look at the way the washington and press corps writes about barack obama, that's distribute way they do it, that's the second thick you can do that will make you go blind. [laughter] i mean, looka at them. look at them. there's a reason. and here we have a president that up until this week has failed at every single thing he ever tried to do except running for president. [applause] and this was a tough week because i actually had to go on the air and say, good job, mr. president, you told the military to do what they do and then you take credit for it and then there's a website that pops up, have you seen this? gutsycall.com. have you seen that?

you log onto gutsycall.com, where does it take you? obama, 2012. is that launch spiking the football, folks? -- is that not spiking the football, folks? so when it comes to obamagasms, nobody is better at it, absolutely nobody, than our guy, chris matthews. oh, look at obama, oh, he's so dreamy, look at those abs, he's on the beach in hawaii, my god, he has nipples. [laughter] oh, just look at him in golf shorts. and there's a sick bag under every chair in here, ladies and gentlemen. if you need one. so, chris matthews is our first nominee tonight. he has to be, it's just a matter of principle. this is the guy that made the m.r.c.'s, the media research center, tingle up my leg award

with his stunning man crush on barack obama. he doesn't have sense enough to be embarrassed about it. on september 7, 2010, the election was just weeks away, boy did we have fun with that one, chris matthews, the host of "hardball" confided to the nation, broadcasting from the men's room at msnbc, but on the air that's what happens when you leave that little switch on your wireless microphone on, that not only does he have a tingle in his leg but, ladies and gentlemen, it has spread. chris matthews. >> my family gave me love, they gave me an education and most of all they gave me hope. [cheers and applause] hope, hope that in america no dream is beyond our grasp.

if we reach for it and fight for it and work for it. >> you know, i get the same thrill up my leg all over me every time i hear those words. i'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, that's me. he's talking about my country. and nobody does it bet wither. can president obama help keep his party keep power? >> the answer's no. and if you look around the table, these other guys were moving their chairs back as he -- what a pervert. [laughter] he's going to be announcing next week that he's leaving msnbc for a new show on logo. now, the second nominee is nightline d anchor terry moran. that comes on too late for me to watch, ladies and gentlemen, so i really don't have much to say about this guy except that after you watch this clip you'll probably have to take a shower, it's one month into the obama

administration, the liberal media, they're still just absolutely drooling and slobbering like burmese mountain dogs over this guy. and moran is -- is it moran or moron? ok. morning media menu, whatever that is, ok, anyway, moran makes sure that we understand the massive historic awesomeness of this completely awesome community organizer, president, here we go. >> i like to say that in some ways barack obama is the first president since george washington with to be taking a step down into the oval office. i mean, from vish agencies leader of a giant move, now he's got an executive position that

he has to perform in. >> god! a step down into the oval office? [whistles] i mean, this is the guy that announced -- yeah, i know, you're doing that because the other would be implight and can would evacuate the -- impolite and it would evacuate the room. this is a guy who announced his entry into politics in the living room of a convicted american domestic terrorist and it's a step down to the presidency? by the way, a convicted american domestic terrorist who by god wrote that book "dreams for my father." so, hold me responsible. this is a guy that steps out of the pe wrmbings ws of jeremiah's -- pews of jeremiah wright's

church down to the presidency, this is a guy who was a community organizer in chicago with nothing but a record of failure in that regard, who steps down to the presidency? this is astounding. i mean, the office of president of the united states is beneath barack obama? he lowered himself to take this job? floated down off of mount olympus? wait a minute, that's in washington. he floated down off of kill monday jarow -- kill monday jorow? to take this job? and the third nominee -- and when i was a judge in this, this is a guy i voted for, i don't know how it's going to turn out, but we're sorry that ed monday thomas couldn't be with us -- edmond thomas couldn't be with us tonight. he's busy lighting candles and beating drums in kenya for the

messiah. this guy, evan thomas, i'll never forget this one. in this pretend "newsweek" magazine which has been bought out by larry flynt, by the way, yeah. evan thomas grabbed the party's power brokers by their elephant sticks -- whatever. he's a cnn contributor, appearing most nights at -- well, wait a minute, i'm jumped ahead here. i jumped ahead of the script. that's ok. i want you -- they're going to get upset with me because with i'm not reading the exact words that bring on the evan thomas clip. but the people who are running the clips are knot going to be able to figure this out with these words. play the evan's what's his face clip. it's self-explanatory, i

promise. >> reagan was all about america. and he talked about it. obama is, we are above that now. we're not just croakial, we're not just -- we stand for something, in a way obama is standing above the country, above the world. he's sort of god. [crowd noise] >> sort of god? sort of god but -- i can't say that up here. ok, here's the envelope, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to see. you know, i can tell from your reaction who you'd like to win this award, am i right? ok. by the way, brent, has anybody ever send, actually said, yeah, send me -- is evan thomas or

keith -- not keith, but are any of these people -- yeah, yeah. well with, actually it is evan thomas. the winner is the man who thinks obama is sort of a god, the son of journalism, it is "newsweek's" d evan thomas. here he goes, ladies and gentlemen. ♪ >> obama's standing above the country, above the world. he's sort of god. ♪ >> how did he keep his job after saying something like that? i wonder if he had the good sense to be embarrassed? now i'm actually back on the script, you might not have been able to tell but i went off the script a little bit here.

this really kind of is a little irritating to tell you the truth. because when i go on vacation from my radio show as i was last week, this is the guy that fills in for me. he's a freaking fill-in for me. and now i have to introduce him like he's some sort of a hot shot here. ok. cnn contributor most nights, 7:00, hosts his own show on wsb conscious w.s.b. radio in atlanta which is the largest and the highest billing talk radio station in the entire nation, i want to tell you that. the london telegraph which doesn't even know i exist has named him one with of the most influential conservatives in america, that really pissed me off. it is my pleasure to bring to the stage, you ever heard of redstate.org?

yeah, that's this guy. [applause] ok, so he knows how to load stuff on the internet. [laughter] bring to the stage one of the gutsiest leaders we have with, the rebel with a cause, mr. eric ericson who wants me office by with the way and can't have it. [cheers and applause] >> you sent your rugrats. give this to evan thomas, if you would. would you bring an iphone up here? a script? oh, jeez. >> i called -- >> here. >> i want you people to know i called evenan thomas and i asked him what he wanted me to say and he said, first of all, thank god

the award came out for -- beforifyman made that statement last week about obama being an effective commander in chief. then he said to thank the academy because that's what you do at times like this, and also it's very funny that he would get an award called the obamagasm because he's gone through wet wipes like the parents of graudrupe lets. the only person who uses them more is jay carney watching "the west wing," imagining what a real white house press secretary looks like. in all seriousness, he wanted me to convey his sincere thanks to david brock and his crack team media researchers. he said they spent hours each day eating box after box of twinkies, fighting clips of people like evan thomas, racist tea baggers and their racist political allies, but for the fine efforts of media matters he

would not be able to do his job and i had to stop him and say, evan, it's not media matters, it's the media research center. he said, brett can go to hell and thank you very much. [applause] >> he can't wait for me to retire. now, by the way, eric, there's big things in store for you because i have two people that have been my substitute hosts for when i've gone on vacation because i've been doing talk radio for 41 years. if you look at me you see why i had a great career on radio and not on tv. when i first started talk radio, my substitute host when i would go on vacation was a history professor at west georgia college by the name of newt gingrich.

who would come in and do the show when i'd leave. for the last couple of years my substitute host up until just a couple of months ago was a man named herrmann mccain. fair tax, ok, i got a few on that. so now, eric, probably someday a candidate, that seems to be what happens to my substitute hosts. i'm going to have two of them running this year. now, most exciting, i think one with of the most exciting political developments in the last quarter century has been the tea party movement. [cheers and applause] and this is the left wing booger eating moron's worst absolute nightmare, millions of americans standing up for three basic principles, lower taxes, less spending and smaller government.

[cheers and applause] the message, the message is absolutely brilliant in its simplistic and the founders would have loved these people but with the fiscal footstools in washington hate them with a passion. and if you look up foot stool in the urban diction earks you can use it in a column sometime. that one usually goes whistling right on by people. but nowhere in the poisoning, party has the left wing media made itself so absolutely obvious, it's one dishonest smear after another, and it really hasn't worked all that well. after two years of smears, the tea party is still stronger than ever. [applause] i mean, you really -- you really have to be a leftist ignoramous

and, no i did not mispronounce the word, and when it shows up in my program notes, i did not misspell it either. but obama can't stop spending, the radical left won't stop their crusade of personal attacks against the tea party. so we now have the tea party from hell award. isn't that wonderful? our first nominee is a deucey. yeah, i know i'm not all that pretty, but give me a break. allegely he works for you, our first nominee, that's taves i smiley. there is -- tavis smiley. there is nothing that's ever happened in tavis smiley's life that was even mildly negative, that wasn't driven by racism and hatred of tavis smiley because of his skin color. if he gets a massage and they press a little too hard, mat

sadge therapist is a racist unless they're black in which case they're an uncle tomorrow -- tom. now, last may 25, he was interviewing an author about radical muslims and she made a pretty innocent observation triggering a broad side from out of nowhere from tavis smiley against the tea party, equating them really with blood thirsty terrorists. here, watch this. >> somehow the idea got into their minds that to kill other people is a great thing to do and they would be rewarded in the here jr. after. >> but christian does that every single day in this country. >> could they blow people up? >> christians every day. people walk into post offices, i mean, people walk into post offices, they walk into schools, that's what columbine is i can do this all day long. the tea party, for example,

every day who are arrested for making threats against elected officials, for calling people nigger. that's within the political -- that's within the body politic of this country. [audience booing] shootings of columbine were a christian attack? and how many of you knew that going postal, it's not because you work for the post office and you're just -- by the way, the hotel used to be a post office building. but how many of you knew that that was all christian-based attacks? you see, this is the guy, the phrase was developed for. now, all of the -- by the way, all of the tea party haters out there in the land of the living leftward brain dead, there's no

more consistent tea party basher than the recently departed, too bad he's not lobster food, keith ole berman. by the way, excuse me, but speaking of lobster food, why didn't they dump bin laden in the dead sea? now, that's not for me, but -- well, we buried him at sea. what sea? the dead sea, you dummy, of course. but keith olbermann is an entire award, he has one reserved just for himself, he's also a finalist, though, in this category, march 22, last year. mr. nice guy, let it fly, stringing together one with of the longest lists of personal insults and attacks in the history of mudslinging, here's -- >> is not the whole of the tea it's in its heart, along with blind hatred, a total disinterest in the welfare of others and the

self-rationalizing refusal to accept the outcome of elections or the reality of democracy or the narrowness of their minds anlt the equal narrowness of their public support. on saturday that support came from evolutionary regressives like michele bachmann and jon voight. on a daily basis that comes from the racists and homophobes of radio and television, the michael savages and the rush limbaughs. >> what a preface. we have, in this country, racism, bigotry and prejudice. and if you asked that fool to define the difference between the three, he couldn't do it. if you took everything he knows about the definitions of those three words and shoved them up an ant's ass, they'd rattle around like a bebe in a box car. [applause] he either needs decalf or

lithium. and his 18 viewers on whatever the heck channel he's on right now, you know, one car wreck and he can lose half of his viewership. and our final nominee for the tea party from hell award, bob schafer, cbs, march 21, last year, face "the nation" and listen carefully. listen carefully, where this guy who insists he's not a liberal methodically repeats every fabricated accusation against the tea party and just presents them as the absolute truth. he's reporting on tea party members exercising rights of free speech but with a negative spin that caused keith olbermann to walk up after the show and ask for his autograph. here we go with bob sheefer. >> a year-long debate that's been rank rouse and mean from the start, turned even nastier

yesterday. demonstrators, protesting shouting kill the bill and made in the u.s.s.r. and as tempers rose, they hearled racial epithet, even as civil rights icon john lewis of georgia, and sexual slurs at massachusetts democrat barney frank. legislators said the protesters spit on them and one lawmaker said it was like a page out of a time machine. >> what a load of horse squeeze. [applause] now, john lewis has been a friend of mine for 30 years and he flat out told me that he did not hear anybody yell a racial epithet at him. there were tv cameras and microphones all over the place, not one audio, not one video of a racial epithet being hurled at the congressmen, not one picture

or video of anybody being spit on. although i'm sorry to the front table here. and in referring to barney frank, bob ought to be careful not to say that he slurs his words. if anybody was getting spit on it was the guy in front of barney frank. now, this one is tough to judge and it went down -- actually, there was one judge's final ballot and since i'm always the last one to get my ballot in, it might have been me. let me see. to libby, said congress should not be forcing the american party award hell or from hell award goes to tavis smiley.

♪ it's the end of the world as we know it it's the end of the world as we with know it it's the -- ♪ >> the tea party every day who are recently arrested for making threats against elected officials, for calling people nigge are r as theywall walked into capitol hill, for spitting on people. ♪ it's the end of the world as we know it and i feel fine ♪ >> tavis smiley couldn't be here tonight because the media research center wouldn't fly him first class. which made them, of course, racist. so, to accept the tea party from hell award on behalf of tavis smiley, two people most qualified, and these people i think look, they truly are

heroes. i was talking to the young lady i'm going to be introducing in a second and a couple of years action she was cleaning houses with her husband to keep a roof over their head instead of begging for government help, was a computer programmer, absolutely one of my heroes, here are the founders of the tea party patriots, ladies and gentlemen, jenny betting martin and -- beth martin and mark meckle rembings. [cheers and applause] you know, he's right, i was

were we not taking government money or beg withing for it, it actually was dangled out in front of us in the form of fannie mae and freddie mac and we turned it down. and we see this week that there asking for $8.5 billion. >> it's really an honor to be up here in front of you guys accepting this award on behalf like to be here himself but we speak with real tea partyiers, only speaking poorly of them behind their backs. spokespeople and while he'd like to come, he's fearful that he's in a room full of american-loving patriots, that if he was infected with the disease liberals call patriotism. >> for those of who you don't know, tavis has a show on npr,

the taves i smiley show, which means that it's especially timely because he's suft such a great example of the broadcast excellence demonstrated by npr and it is the year of npr, isn't it? standing here stont a great feeling to know that my tax dollars and yours go to support this kind of balanced and unbiased journalistic excellence. and to make sure they keep getting our tax dollars, they just hired a lobbyist this week to secure this money. >> so, we want you guys to understand the debt and character of tavis. it's not his first award. apparently for three consecutive years he has received an award from the naacp called the information show. we all know what a great friend and a fair advocate for the tea party movement the naacp is.

>> and in conclusion, by accepting the tea party from hell award, on behalf of mr. smiley, we'd like to thank him for his unbiased commentary, his honesty and integrity and his unwavering commitment to fair reporting in the tea party movement. we'd like to, but we can't because he hasn't demonstrated this yoo yet. but there's always next year. today we can thank him for continuing to point out the absurdity of the left and to help throw the tea party -- grow the tea party movement. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ >> thank you, folks. i'll see new four years when they get over tonight. four more years. see if you can find me. >> thank you, neal boortz. [applause] >> well with, while neal was

reading "war and peace," i was back there and i got a text from my son who scored some mammoth points with his wife by telling me to remind me that i have to say a shoutout, a happy mother's day to all the mothers here. happy mother's day. in 2007 and with the blessing of its namesake, we introduced a new element to the m.r.c., the william f. buckley award for excellence in journalism. why? because every year there are innumerable trofies to be won by with unaccomplished liberals in an industry that regularly banished wise conservative thought from polite company. quite frankly, where their awards are concerned, you should never use the words journalism and excellence in the same sentence. but we can. when we produce reporters who

report to be devoted to balance and impartiality, they dev deliver just that. balance and impartiality. our commentators comment with devastating accuracy, our radio personalities crush their opposition, on every level our guys can beat up their guys. our women can beat up their guys. [applause] just occurred to me. and so we honor all of them. in 2007 our first winner was rush limbaugh. in 2008 the award was given to the late and dealer beloved and missed tony snow. in 2009 the award for excellence in journalism was bestowed on the great brit human and last year it went to the legendary stan evans. for 2011 we turn to another friend of the m.r.c.'s and a long-time intellectual leader in the conservative movement and

what a powerhouse he is. his twice weekly column appears in over 500 newspapers nationwide, making him the most widely read voice in america. he's a panelist on the popular fox news watch show, his latest book, common ground, was co-written with robert beckle with whom he shares a column in a nupe. he has worked while appearing on countless television programs. he's been honored with a cable ace award nomination, he's also received awards from the associated press and united press international. big deal. tonight he gets the big one. ladies and gentlemen, it's my honor to present to you the 2011 win wither of the william f. buckley award for excellence? journalism, my good friend, cal

>> thank you very much, that's nice. all i cansy is that standards are falling everywhere with. i congratulate the two people who walked out during my introduction, i salute their good taste. i wouldn't want to be -- belong to any club that would have me as a member. but it's a great honor to be recognized by your piers and since they don't, it's an even greater honor to be recognized by you. [applause] we've all heard of -- like neal i don't have a teleprompter, they're all taken up in this town, i don't know. i'm going to read some prepared notes. we've all heard of the glass ceiling which for years kept women from achieving their

highest aspirations because of gender. bill buckley broke through the iron door which segregated conservative thought to a place outside the mainstream marketplace. bill's destruction of that iron door by the force of his supreme intellect made it possible for succeeding generations to follow in his wake. he graced the op ed pages of 300 newspapers and made me think, gee, if he can do it, just maybe i can too. this column began with a relationship. it was tom johnson, the former l.b.j. aide, who opened the door for me when he was publisher of the "los angeles times." he introduced me to the leadership of the "l.a. times" syndicate and urged them to give me a chance. tom is a true pluralist and a gentleman. the column quickly grew to reach 500 newspapers because i persuaded editors that if they'd let me into their papers i'd get them new subscribers among the disaffected conservatives.

they did and i did. the number of papers carrying me has faunl off slightly for many reasons, including the trouble in which newspapers have found themselves, but it remains, i think, a, well, i guess it's number one, but here today, gone tomorrow, right? the other relationship that helped me more than any other was a little higher than tom johnson. in march of 1983 i asked god to do a greater miracle than moses parting the red sea. i asked him to part the liberal mind. and if he did, i said i would seek to honor him with the platform he had given me. so while i'm most appreciative to the media research center and brent bozell for this honor, i must give credit where the real credit is due. to the one who gave me the gift of writing. i recall what god told samuel, he who honors me, i will honor. so thanks to my wife for standing with me for 46 years and thanks to the god whom i serve and who i hope is pleased

with his servant. thank you very much. [applause] >> congratulations again to cal thomas. cal, you may have recently heard that the phillips foundation awarded journalism grants totaling $131,000. i just want you to know that on behalf of the trustees of the media research center, it's my pleasure that we've decided to match that amount for you dollar for dollar tonight. [applause] now, no -- cal, you're not

getting butkus. never have, never will. cal wouldn't know what to do with a check from the media research center, as often as he does. thank you. cal is a special friend for this organization. what people don't realize is how much cal has given of himself to the movement. volumes could be written of the things that he's done for a lot of organizations, professionally, for a lot of people personally and i know that and i thank you and, ray, god bless you, too. our second presenter -- [applause] our second presenter tonight is the author of such internationally best-selling novels as "true crime" and don't say a word, a film starring michael douglas. his books have been translated around the world, five times he's been nominated for mystery writers of america ed gars award and twice he's won.

andrew's latest book, "the identity man" was chosen as a must-read by entertainment weekly. he's been push lishing a series of thrillers for young adults. his op eds have appeared on print, his voice on radio and his face on tv everywhere. his video feature can be found at pgatv.com and highly recommend you that go there. he's man of many accomplishments, none higher than the one tonight, serving as our second presenter for the 2011 dishonors awards, please welcome andrew claybin. ♪ >> thank you so much. i appreciate that. i would like you all to understand that like barack obama stepping into the presidency this is kind of a

step down for me. [laughter] like -- you know, like neal and ann and really everyone who has ever stood on this stage as a dishonors presenters, i'm doing this because of my deep commitment to the work that m.r.c. does. i'm not being paid anything. i'm not getting a single penny for this. not even airfare. [laughter] and my hotel room's small. because of the ice machine i was up all night. so thanks so much, friend. what was i talking about? oh, yeah. at this point we present what we call brent baker's funniest videos. this is not an award. these are videos we found either on television or the

internet, they caught our eye and we thought you might enjoy them. we have six offerings. one is courtesy of the internet site 23-6. this is now the brain trust behind al gore's brilliant tv. >> as promised. as promised. holier than thou. three points. one, you are a fascist. get you to print a tv with fascist on it. two, you are making a jackass out of yourself and, three, this is crap. show a little respect. grow up. you are a liar. you are a liar. that, sir, is not only un-american, it is dick at that torial. you, sir, you, sir, treason, sir. campaign, sir. you. you. how dare you? you. you. you. you. i'm not gay. desperate. heartless.

disgraceful. pity. juvenile. avid. thugs and psychos. no. no. no. horrible. horrible. you would have been screwed and screwed you are. good night and good luck. [applause] >> shut the hell up. speaking about gore, the next talk brings a 1994 video that shows that then stars of nbc's "today show," bryant gumbel and katie "perky" couric trying to wrap their mind around al gore's new invention, the internet. someone at nbc taped it on their cell phone which is why the quality is kind of poor. pay attention. the news grabble with one of the central mysteries of the new age.

>> translate that. a little t. marked with the a and then the ring around it. >>@. >> but i've never heard -- mark but never said. and then stupid when i said it. something i see. [coughing] >> what allison should know -- internet is about massive computer network. it's becoming big now. >> what do you mean? like mail? >> no. people communicate with nbc. allison, can you explain what the internet is? >> no, she can't say anything -- >> oh. >> shortly after this they found out about the invention

of the cell phone camera. fox's brett beir found something funny the day before. this is what we consider the best of what brett beir found. >> when it comes to construction projects like filling in a hole of the road, we'll see how many it takes to do it considering they are paid by the hour. >> how many guys? one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. 15! 15 guys. >> cutbacks are also an issue in a tough economy and it's really hitting every network. >> i'm brian williams. as always, we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. ♪

>> raised eyebrows with his speeches, but this work, according to the translation of one show, well, this one seemed very strange. >> only the -- >> in his state of the union speech, president obama, of course, many democrats and republicans were sitting together.

some called it date night which many analysts called a bit hokie but we missed how far lawmakers went with this whole thing. >> and now for the first time ever we're going to turn on the capitol hill kiss cam. >> ♪ kiss me beneath the milky twilight. >> this 911 call raised some eyebrows. >> 911, what's your emergency? >> yeah, my wife got attacked by a warthog real bad and i need someone to come up with an ambulance and pick her up. [laughter]

>> pretty efficient system. all right. our fourth offering is a quick one but kudos to its creator, abc's "jimmy kimmel live." >> i have this gavel and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new speaker. god bless you, speaker boehner. [laughter] >> you wish. you wish. now, have you ever watched president obama pontificating on something and wish someone would challenge what he was saying like maybe the press? well, courtesy of rick at bulletpeople.com here is dragnet immortal sergeant o' friday doing something the

>> if we don't pass it, give the guarantee that the people we're watching tonight, your premiums will go up, your employees will load up more costs on you, they'll drop your coverage -- in terms of the cost providing to employees each and every year and the federal government will go bankrupt. >> you really believe that? you appear to be a moderately well educated man. you use that highly well trained intellect, you utilize it much as the way of a highcalsly sophisticated weapon, don't you? you have the finest education in the world. and you use it for the common detriment of man, for the disintegration of the society that made that learning possible for you. and particularly by the young with a power that highly refined intelligence you can move mountains. >> you don't concern yourselves

with that, do you? people don't want your warped and distorted -- >> careful with your ideas boiling over with energy. you want to change things. you look around and see things you want change. people kill each other and they shouldn't. people are hungry and they shouldn't be. they need shelter. they need books. the world needs changing. well, they need changing. you have to learn to play the game, by the rules. [applause] >> like a happy dream, isn't it? finally, there's been a lot much tarb -- people look at the g.o.p. candidate and say, where is the next ronald reagan? well, we found him. here he is. like all great careers, all great careers have to start somewhere. reagan of course was a broadcaster and actor, union leader, spokesperson, business

of the state. barack obama may have gone to college. [laughter] . this guy, our next ronald reagan, wanted to be treasurer of stark county ohio. he didn't make it. his announcement speech was -- >> my name is phil davidson, and i am seeking -- for the position of stark county treasurer. i am republican. i am not bad. albert einstein issued one of my most favorite quote. and it is as follows -- in the middle of opportunity -- excuse me -- in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. let me repeat that so i have clarity. in the middle of difficulty

lies opportunity. this is the opportunity we've been waiting for. the stark county treasurer's office is a mess. it is -- and now is the time to seize this opportunity with an aggressive campaign and a more aggressive campaigner. i promise each and every person in this room, i will hit the ground running, come out swinging. let's send the message tonight to the people of stark county and to the people of the stark county democratic party. we're tired of business as usual. [inaudible]

thank you. it requires drastic measures. [applause] >> all right. all right. those are glen baker's funniest videos of the evening. now, we're going to move on -- we're going to move on to our third award and this award takes us to darkest hollywood, my stomping ground. everybody's familiar with those blooper reels which some glamorous hollywood performer makes a silly mistake. well, our reels tonight you are going to see hollywood performers making the same silly mistake over and over again which is the mistake of thinking they have something to say about politics. i don't know if you've ever seen the film about show business, all about eve. they call it the weird process by which a body of a voice fancies itself with a mind. now, when such people are separated from their

teleproferter and are forced to ad lib, we have stupidity. i repeat myself. now, these ad libbing liberals degrade our culture and mislead our youth, they poison our political do i log. but on a positive side, they're good for a couple of laughs and that's why our third award tonight is a i am not a political genius but i play one on tv award. and here are our three finalists. now, this first one, some may have thought this woman was dead. it was actually just her career. she was once a star but she's now into cultural irrelevance and invited to appear on anderson cooper's show, but i repeat myself. so let's hear it for roseanne barr. this past january 5, roseanne

took some time off from eating -- [laughter] to go on cooper's show and treat his dozens of viewers to carefully consider some of his philosophical views. here's a compilation of her life-changing wisdom and the vice president, sarah palin and then conservatives in general. and feel free, this is a good time to use your noise makers here. >> all you tea party people, you work for the -- they are like billionaires. guy has never worked an honest day in his life. i think she's a loan. and i think she's kind of a traitor to this country. her followers are the dumbest people on earth. >> thanks a lot. >> but seriously, they can barely scare up a pulp. i'm serious. they are really -- >> roseanne. you're wrong.

>> thank you very much. now, the second nominee is a man which fulfills all the people of a hollywood intellectual. he wears a tie. he sneers. i am speaking, of course, bill maher. he made an entire movie called "religulious" which blamed all the troubles of the world on our faith on god. you may not have read this but "variety" reported that god has a film saying, "oh, bill, you are in deep, deep trouble." you may have remembered that there was hate speech. we can learn from maher about

civil discourse. we have three clips which maher speaks to conservatives in a statesman-like way with words from the left. >> do it because it will make rush limbaugh explode like a bad -- [applause] [inaudible] it will make sarah palin go rogue in her pants. >> when we see crazy, senseless guests like this we can only ask, why, why couldn't it have been glen beck? sarah palin screaming about death panels? you know what, sarah, if we were killing off useless people you would be the first to know. >> he's a brain. he's a brain. settle down, you hateful people. come on. our third and final nomination for the i'm not a political genius but i play one on tv award goes to meat head. that's rob rymer, of course.

he played meat head in the 1970's. he has gone on to much, bigger role playing meat head in real world. on the eve of the historic g.o.p. mid term victories, meat head was on bill maher's show. and the tea party caused him to wax philosophical about history. you might think the man is a complete idiot and the rest of you probably stopped paying attention. let's watch. >> this, by the way, never got more than 33% of the vote ever in germany. but he wasn't a majority guy. but he was charismatic and having bad economic times just like we are now, out of work and a guy came along and rallied the troops. my fear is that the tea party

gets a charismatic leader because all they're selling is fear and anger. >> right. >> and that's all hitler sold. i'm angry and i'm frightened and you should take that guy over there. >> and i do. now, it's time to present the award for the biggest left-wing idiot in hollywood. but i repeat myself. the i'm not a political genius but i play one on tv award goes to the meathead. ♪ >> the tea party gets a charismatic leader because all they're selling is fear and anger. >> right. >> and that's all hitler sold. i'm angry and i'm frightened and you should take that guy over there. >> ♪ don't know much about

history don't know much about biology don't know much about science books don't know much about the french i took but i do know that i love you and i know that if you love me too ♪ >> meathead could not be here. three housewives and the accountant and the guy that runs the mini mart. accepting on meathead's behalf is a man who is his opposite in every way. he's tall and slender and has a perptually pleasant personality. in the world of public policy he's turned out to be one of our very best leaders. he's the president of americans for prosperity with the ability to rally more than 1.7 million supporters in 50 states. it's a pleasure to introduce to you meathead's greatest

nightmare, the very charismatic tim phillips. >> well, sadly rob reimer could not be with us this evening and this is still a secret, mind you, but rob and michael moore over at the offices of the environmental protection agency right now as we speak. it turns out that the e.p.a. is about to classify rob and michael's stomach as federally protected wetlands. so we're very honored by that. i hope my mom's not watching. that's really -- that's really

wrong. now, in all candor, rob is back at the hotel this evening. he's afraid to turn off his tv. if he does msnbc's audience will drop by 25%. that's just wrong and unfortunate. rob and michael are at a really big fight -- in a really big fight right now. the mascot for save the whale servings is up right now. and they're fighting over it. it's been a while since he's had a hit movie. he misses the public adulation. tonight's award will help rob with that. in fact, it god so bad last week he was out in california and he did what he often does when he's depressed, he went out to a public location and hope that people recognized him and he went to a senior stenholm in san francisco just last week. i hope he didn't hear about this. it was really tragic. he was walking around the rom

and going, hi, do you know who i am? do you know who i am? finally an elderly woman patted him on the arm saying, no, but if you go to the nurses stand, sir, maybe they can help you out. i think tonight's award will be a big pick-me-upper. thank you for picking up a guy who is really down on his luck. thank you very much. [applause] >> thanks. tim phillips. [applause] every year our team of media sluths pour through tens of thousands of hours of footage and eventually will it down to the half dozen or so selections in each category. the quotes are then delivered to a who's who of the conservative movement and ultimately as it should be they render final judgment with the

winners and runners up of the annual dishonors awards. i can tell you that this year's votes were razor close. perhaps the closest ever. i thank these men and women for their terrific input. our 2011 dishonors award judges in alphabetical order. ♪

[applause] >> our final presenter is a perennial favorite for this crowd. she's been with us since the very beginning and every time i introduce her it seems it's incumbent on me to tell you that she's got another book that has either been on or on "the new york times" bestseller list. seven of them. she's putting the finishing touches on her new offering, a title she can only get away with when writing a book about liberals. i kid you not, the title is "demonic." it's absolutely guaranteed to be bestseller number eight and, ladies and gentlemen, i'm starting to find this quite obscene. she's a legal correspondent for

human events and a popular syndicated columnist for the national press syndicate. she's one of the most sought after personalities on the college speaker circuit. whether it's on college campuses or national television, pity the liberal fool who thinks he can take her on. ladies and gentlemen, thank god she's my friend, is all i can say, ann coulter. [applause] >> i have a bittersweet award tonight. s the ode to keith olbermann and like many of you since he was fired by msnbc, there's been a hole in my life. i keep trying to watch rachel but you sit back and say, keith would have been so much

crazier. you're probably wondering why i'm giving this award tonight. there are a number of reasons. first, of course, boothe keith and i are girls. -- both keith and i are girls. [applause] we also both went to college in ithaca, new york. i went to the ivey league cornell school of arts and sciences and keith went to the old mcdonald's school of agriculture. i wouldn't mention this except that keith is compulsively telling people, saying he went to the ivey league cornell, desperately trying to have people find him as a major egg head. of course, never ever reading anything that isn't on a left-wing blog is not a good way to have people think of you as a heavy duty intellectual. thirdly, i'm an early keith watcher. i know a lot of you johnny come ratelies are sad that he's gone now.

-- come latelies are sad that he's gone now. i was an early keith watcher. i saw the promise in that man. i'm hoping that someday i'm sure some of the early keith watcher, like media research center, should form a group. the daughters of the american revolution. watchers of the early keith watchers. if there's one thing to describe keith i couldn't do it. if i had three adjectives i would say he's prissy, pompous and hysterical. which is a dynamite combo platter. >> shut the hell up! >> sadly, even msnbc finally

realized that not being popular in high school is not a good enough reason to have a tv show. [applause] we're sorry for what the popular football players did to you but you can't seek revenge for ranting for one hour on tv every night. throughout his brief troubled career at mb, keith brought to bear all the vast knowledge he learned by being a second tier sports host on a cable tv show. with his motor set to full pompous, this is keith in his prime offering his objective assessment of scott brown, a candidate for the u.s. senate in massachusetts. >> scott brown we have an irresponsible, homophobic, tea bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees. this man would have been laughed off the stage as an

unqualified and a disaster in the making by the worst conservative of conservatives. >> with an endorsement like that, scott brown became the first republican senator from massachusetts in 38 years. [applause] >> shut the hell up! >> it was quite an accomplishment considering he was replacing a senator who was driven off a bridge and drowned a girl. his cruelty came in handy when he made the theory that rush limbaugh was responsible for the timothy mcveigh bombing of the federal building in oklahoma city. >> was a talk radio or janet reno's -- >> well, obviously the answer

is talk radio because it would be rush limbaugh's hate radio. he claimed that they would have blood on their hands. frankly, rush, you have that blood on your hands now and you've had it for 15 years. >> ironically keith had a blood removing hand cleanser as a sponsor for his new sure to be hit runaway internet tv show asking me to pick a favorite keith olbermann hissy fit is like asking a mother to choose her favorite child. michael moore picking his favorite dessert. but of all of keith's on-air cries for help this one is surely one of my favorites. >> everything you said about iraq yesterday and everything you will say is a deception. for the purpose of this one cynical, unacceptable brutal goal -- perpetuating this war

indefinitely. war today, war tomorrow, war forever. a man with any self-respect having inadvertently revealed such an evil secret would have already resigned and fled the country. you have no credibility about iraq, sir. mr. bush, our presence in iraq must end. even if it means your resignation. even if it means your impeachment. even if it means a different republican to serve out your term. he would have thrown a shoe at bush but he throws like a girl. [laughter] [applause] having given serious consideration to these stellar nominations, our judges have a verdict and the winner is -- this was a mistake. it's the rush limbaugh clip. the rush limbaugh clip.

♪ >> you have blood on your hands now and you've had it for 15 years. >> unfortunately keith couldn't be here tonight because -- seems to be going on a little long. we really like the clip better. unfortunately, keith couldn't be with us here tonight because he's updating his myspace page. but joining us in his -- u.s. representative in his fifth term, steve king -- [applause] he's on the house judiciary committee --

>> you're a high-flyin' flag you're the land i love the land i love the home the free and the brave ♪ >> thank you so much for his introdux. he's my favorite congressman. >> thank you. thank you, ann. well, first off, i'm here because i drew the short straw and i'm also doing a little bit of math around here tonight. i am the ranking member of the work force and the world caucus. but it is a special honor to be here today to accept the ode to olbermann award on behalf of keith olbermann who is a special friend of the media research center. special. now, let's face it. is there any other media personality alive today, and that's an important clause, who offered more direct fundraising fodder than this man? he was like the personal a.t.m.

machine, mine included. i need you. i got a campaign coming up. but you've been banished off to a network that i'm going to mention and it will be the first time that many of you have heard about it. tonight i accept this award on behalf of and stand on the shoulders on and any other body, keith olbermann. think of this, ladies and gentlemen, msnbc's loss is -- here's the network -- current tv's gain. now, you heard it here, folks. when you think of wise career paths, this is an exit ramp to irrelevant. olbermann is gone from irrelevant to unheard of and only the walking strategic biodiesel reserve, al gore, could have keith olbermann on his payroll today. i made that up at the table.

perhaps because olbermann may be the last person on the face of this planet who thinks he knows what al gore is talking about. i suspect good old keith will start savaging us as soon as his new show on current tv is running. but like the proverbial tree falling in the forest, if no one hears him scream, does keith olbermann exist? well, i for one am glad we have him. he is living testimony to the brilliance of our bill of rights, upper most being our freedom of speech. we as conservatives will be the first in line to defend his right to speak what's on his mind with a certain knowledge that the more he speaks what's on his mind the less we realize is actually in it. thank you very much, and i very much appreciate the opportunity to accept this award on the part of keith olbermann and on behalf of all the worse persons

in the world. thank you very much. [applause] >> our final award this evening is the illustrious conservative award. setting a new tone of civility that liberals brought to our political conversation. if there's one thing liberals will not abide it is discourse any sort of language that brings hate into the community. our first damn those conservatives nominees -- if you haven't been incarcerated you probably don't know who he is. this is because, one, he's on msnbc and his lead-in is racial mad -- here is ed schultz's calm measure and civil approach of the republican position on health care. >> the republicans lie.

they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corps. they kind of like it when that woman has cancer and they don't have anything for her. >> here, i think we have an example of why democrats aren't good at business. [laughter] how do you make money off a dead corpse? well, here's an alive corpse. imagine ed schulte getting his m.b.a. -- i'm going to go for 30-year-old single guy. i have a business plan that will both appeal to early retirees and ed schultz, i'm appealing to dead corpses. schultz is carving out for himself in msnbc. i'm going for pure stupidity.

our next damn those conservatives nominee is msnbc's krueger. until about 10 minutes ago i thought it was a type of lebanese food. but it turns out that when msnbc dumps keith olbermann, praise his name, and they opened an hour at 6:00 p.m., and just out of msnbc's dumb luck they found someone who is not only developmentally disabled but physically repulsive. here's the thoughtful analysis of the republican party. >> start with the party of hate. the republican party of this country has been running on hate for the last 50 years. what black person, gay guy or girl, immigrant or muslim american in their right mind vote for the republican party?

they might as well wear a sign around their neck saying i hate myself. >> is that one party? the began transgendered black muslim immigrant? because if that's the audience he's going for, i think he's on his way to a very highly rated show. at least he's going to beat the dead corpse guy. and why did he say it's for the last 50 years? he wanted to avoid mentioning the 200 years the democrats spent on slavery and segregation. as i -- [applause] as i point out in my magnificent new book "demonic," liberals always wait for the fight to be over. they've been fighting on the wrong side the whole time and then 100 years later they give all the credit. roe will be appealed, abortion

will be outlawed and democrats will be saying, they were the pro-life party. although -- our third nominee is the coincidence, another host on msnbc. although most of you know him as the surreal up my leg guy, chris matthews is most famous for being the dumbest person on tv until cent ugyher. here is chris matthews who has the right to condescend to no one. interviewing michele bachmann for all the courtesy a professional journalism will extend to a woman and a member of the house of representatives. >> are you hypnotized tonight or did someone hypnotize? because you give the same answer. are you hypnotized? did someone put you in a

transtonight? would you answer the same way every question i put to you? >> i think the american people are finally speaking tonight. we're coming out of our trans. well, we're coming out of our nightmare. i think people are thrilled tonight. thrilled and probably not so much on your leg any more. [applause] >> chris matthews, the finest news man of his generation. and the winner is of the m.r.c. damn those conservatives award -- ed schultz. ♪ >> the republicans lie. they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse.

♪ >> unfortunately ed couldn't be with us tonight to accept his award. there's a "glee" marathon on fox and he doesn't know how to set his tivo. so accepting on his behalf will be one of the first men to challenge obamacare as unconstitutional, who got a federal judge to rule that it is unconstitutional, and the man who is going to be our next president, chris christy's vice president, if i have anything to say about it, ken cuccinelli. >> ♪ i'm proud to be an american at least i know i'm free and i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me and i gladly stand up

next to you and defend her today because there ain't no doubt i love this land ot bless the u.s.a. ♪ >> after ann coulter -- [laughter] i don't know about you, but i come to the m.r.c. dinners for the music. [laughter] as i'm sure you can imagine, i get a lot of invitations to speak and join people for dinners and desserts and really drinks and tonight i was invited to deliver the key note address at the ed schultz fan club. but after all six people canceled i was available to come tonight. so here i am and i'm glad to be with you all. as i'm sure steve king would agree, mmple r.c. is a great

ally to have in public life. accountability is a nice thing because when you get as many reporters and bloggers and talk show hosts trying to sink you as their only goal, truth be damned, you really come to appreciate brent bozell and the folks at m.r.c. with their truth-telling efforts. thank you, all. [applause] we just don't have the manpower in my office to correct every propaganda -- i'm sorry -- i mean, media outlet, that's willing to say anything no matter how distant from the truth to try to discredit the work we're doing to protect the constitution and the law. what a concept. what a concept. [applause] well, the reason ed isn't here

himself is because he really doesn't like to be in front of large crowds. so it's very good that he's on msnbc. that's very helpful. so it's with that in mind that i am honored, truly honored to accept the damn those conservatives award on behalf of eddie schultz. now, ed, one thing i want you to get straight. my lawsuit isn't about health care. it's about liberty, and we'll see you at the supreme court. god bless all of you. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, vice president cuccinelli.

it has a ring to it. you got to admit it. let me say some things very quickly. i can't thank everyone. i have to thank a few people. the production work, verizon television, and c.p.r. productions in the back. i want to thank all those that were involved in so many aspects of this, bonnie, melissa lopez, our beautiful trophy lady, rihanna. i want to thank, jamie sullivan, all their staff, the people that put -- tom, david bozell, james, that whole development staff. brent baker and his whole staff. tim graham. they're all true heroes. now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the quote of the year. you've seen the five finalists. we go down to four.

meathead doesn't get anything. we're going through the whole dishonors award without his name. he's a meathead. he's off. we have four finalists. first thing i'd like to do is invite back up to the stage the three presenters and five accepters and please give them a round of applause. neal boortz, andrew klaven. where is the beautiful ann coulter? erik, are you there? beth martin, mark meckler, tim phillips, steve king and ken cuccinelli. ok. do we have everybody? ok. this is dangerous. this is how the exercise works. these are the judges behind us. you, ladies and gentlemen, are going to hear the finalists in the four categories. you are not going to say anything. keep it quiet. do not say anything. just listen a moment, run it through your mouth like a good

fine wine, spit it out afterwards like you do fine wine. and then we'll run the faces of the winners one by one. at one point when i tell you that's when you make noise and you make all the noise you like. the more noise the better. if you feel passionate about your man. ok. so when you are finished then the judges here will decide who it is who is the loudest mouth of them all and will win the award for the 2011 dishonors award. first we are going to run the winner of the obamagasm award, "newsweek" thomas. >> boif the world. sort of got -- >> ok. second, the winner of the tea party from hell award, pbs' tavis smiley. >> the tea party, for example, every day who will -- arrested for making threats against elected officials for calling people niggers as they walk

into capitol hill for spitting on people. >> think it over. think it over. let it percolate. the winner of the ode to olbermann award. keith olbermann. >> you have had that blood on your hands for 15 years. >> finally, ed schultz. >> the republicans lie. they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. >> ok. are we ready? are we ready? can i hear you? [cheers and applause] all right. here we go. number one, evan thomas. [applause] number two, tavis smiley.

[applause] number three, keith olbermann. [applause] number four, ed schultz.

>> do you think it was close? not so close. you know, the first thing we want to say is as we tabulated the results it was very clear that tavis smiley was not first and obviously you're all racist. so it's bad to have to participate in this. but it was unanimous back here after a little bit of debate and the winner of the quote of the year for media research center is ed schultz.

[applause] can we play it one more time for them? let them hear it one more time. can we do it one more time? no. ok. so -- ok. there's one more question. >> why? they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. >> there you go. ed schultz, one more question from the night, are the bars open? mark meckler. the bars are open in the back. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the coolest thing in the history of the universe, the outlaws.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> the u.s. house is expected to return today 4:45 eastern to debate raising the debt ceiling by $4.2 trillion. 2/3 majority vote is needed for passage. later this week the entire house is expected to attend meetings at the white house to discuss the debt ceiling issue. also this week, a resolution regarding u.s. military action in lib the gentleman from again, votes on raising the debt ceiling expected at 6:30 eastern. you can see that vote live here on c-span. now available, c-span's congressional directory.

a complete guide to the first session of the 112th congress. inside, new and returning house and senate members, district maps and committee assignments and information on the white house, supreme court justices and governors. order online at c-span.org/shop. >> the c-span video library makes it easy to follow campaign 2012. click on the tab and get instant access to events from anoupsed and potential presidential candidates. all searchable, shareable and free. the pea body award-winning c-span library is washington your way. >> earlier today, assistant secretary of state, kirk campbell, says the u.s. will announce the goals for southeast asia sometime in the next few days. secretary campbell also discussed the situation in

burma and preparation for two regional summits this year. the center for strategic and ber national studies is the host of this event -- international studies is the host of this event. >> it's an honor to welcome you to csis this morning for a very timely and special edition of the tree leadership forum. we created this forum for occasions just like this. to have dedicated leaders from the united states, southeast asia, australia, new zealand and the pacific to share those in favor say aye insights and perspectives on timely and important trends that will impact all our lives. from trade and investment, to security and political affairs, to foreign policy and the important basis for all of the above, people-to-people ties. we're very lucky today to have a good friend, assistant secretary of state, kirk campbell, with us here this morning. he's a leader in the

churchillian tradition. he leads on the front -- [laughter] >> he says what he means. no comment. seriously. he leads from the front. [laughter] he means what he says and he follows through. he's thoughtful, creative and he backs good ideas with energy and action. and you can't say that about many people in certain leadership roles. although kirk has provided brilliant ideas and strategies that secretary clinton and he have deployed throughout asia. i can't stand here and not share an example of kirk's leadership that is seared in my own consciousness. we had the unfortunate experience of being together in new zealand when the devastating earthquake of february 2 hit us like a freight train during lunchtime. it was a tragic day and a lot

of us will never forget it. about 150 american leaders, including young leaders, were onhand for the partnership forum, which is a vehicle for strengthening and reinvigorating our ties with new zealand. kirk, of course, has been a major driver of this initiative. they -- the support of the -- our friend in new zealand, they deployed us to the ant arctic airbase and we were going on the c-130's. you know, it was kirk campbell who stood covered in dust in earthquake along with his new zealand counterpart and he really took charge. he took charge when the chips were down. he took charge of that evacuation. he sorted out who would go first on the airplanes, who would go when and he wasn't first. last on that airplane. and he took great care. i was really impressed by this. he took great care to

personally sit down with the young leaders and put them at ease as we evacked our way out of there. i can't tell you how impressed i was with leadership and action like that. kirk, this is an important time for u.s. foreign policy in asia. that's an understatement and i'm sure you'll explain why. with the secretary of planning to head out to the asean regional forum and the president looking ahead to his first east asia summit and the third u.s.-asean summit as well as hosting the summit in honolulu this summer, this is a timely talk. i don't think many people in washington can put 300 people in a room on the morning after memorial day holiday. please welcome my friend and our assistant secretary of state, kirk campbell. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you very much, ernie. i have never seen a program, stood up more quickly, have greater influence than the one ernie has put together in the course of the last couple of years. i have more to say about that as the discussion goes. let me welcome everyone here on a very hot -- is it august or is it still may? but there is no climate change. ok. so welcome everyone here to csis. let me take a moment to welcome our good friends, all the ambassadors from asean, a lot of distinguished people in the audience, ambassador moore, carlos hill. thank you. it's an honor to be here. what i'd like to talk about today is our engagement and how we see next steps when it comes to southeast asia, in particular. be happy to take questions or comments about the whole of asia. but the particular focus is going to be on southeast asia as a whole. and i'd like to begin with

something i think is extraordinary. it's extraordinarily important. i think occasionally you'll find discussions about -- about whether the united states has -- is backing asia or particularly stepped up our game. i'd like to reject some of those concepts because i think one of the most important things for american foreign policy in asia as a whole for the last 30 years it's been primarily bipartisan. and the fact that we can count on strong bipartisan centrist commitment from both parties to an expansive, engaged strategy in asia has been one of the principal achievements of american foreign policy in asia and has been one of the most important things we can count on going forward. so i think one of the things i'd like to see going forward, and i would counsel my friends in my own administration is to underscore the bipartisan quality of what we have done and what we will seek to do and working closely not only with

friends on the other side of the aisle but with the legislative branch, clearly the legislative branch has an enormous set of equities and interest in southeast asia and we tried to work closely with them as we go forward. i think n president obama and secretary clinton came in, one of the areas that they look and said, look, we want to intensify our engagement is in southeast asia. what you have seen over the course of the last 2 1/2 years is the beginning of that process. and i say beginning because in order to be successful, particularly in southeast asia, it is going to be important to continue this, to make sure that it lasts not only this administration but further in future administrations. it's absolutely essential to be able to underscore an enduring long-term stepped-up engagement in southeast asia. if you look at the things that secretary clinton and president obama did right from the outset, first of all, regularized travel, secretary clinton has been to asia seven times, many

of those trims have been to southeast airbornia. she's almost completed the tour. she has a couple remaining countries. she'd like to go to all the countries during her tenure in office. we signed the treaty of amnesty -- amnesty -- am netty and cooperation, a guidepost that allows us to have more intense engagements on a variety of not only bilateral initiatives but institutional initiatives as well. president obama instructed the state department to undertake a burma review and we went through that process over the course of the first eight months and we put in place a very careful new strategy which is designed both to keep our pressure in place but also to explore opportunities for consequential engagement now with new leaders in there. we were one of the first nations to appoint an ambassador in

djakarta -- djakarta. we believe one of the most important initiatives that can occur over the next severt years is to create the infrastructure of the institutions of airbornia. you see that developing in a variety of places, but in particular when it comes to as youian, seeing that the secretary takes on new responsibilities, new authorities, we think is extraordinarily important. secretary clinton is going to be reaching out to all the partners that participate in the asian regional form, requesting them all to send an ambassador so that david cartman, who has been confirmed now for a couple of weeks, a close advisor to the president. he's currently serving with a japanese colleague but we'd like to see a full house going forward. we've come prepared each year now to the asean regional forum. we've spent an enormous amount of time on a range of issues, both security, economic, political and cultural and i'll

talk more about that as we go forward. and we've come hopefully bearing a complex well-divided initiatives. last year in vietnam we came and worked closely with a variety of countries related to the south china sea initiative. so i think what we've tried to do is demonstrate that we recognize, for a host of reason, and i think we all understand the detailed facts that make southeast asia in many respects more important economically to the united states than even western europe, and how to make that fact more clearly understood by the american people has been one of the things that we've worked on consequentially going forward. so rather than go country by country, what i thought i would do is spend a few minutes and talk about institutions. it's very rare that we sort of think about sort of the specific institutions and what our agenda is, but we think that particularly southeast asia, the

current period really calls for coming forward with an integrated strategy about how you go forward. now, before i do that, let me just say that oftentimes you ask people, you know, what are the overarching goals of american foreign policy, not only in the world but in a particular place, will you often see a breakdown between two general sort of world views. the one world view would say, look, one of the most important things for american foreign policy is to sustain american leadership and american power in the world. and do you that through a variety of mechanisms. you know, strong military commitments, underscoring the leadership role of the united states, clearly that is a critical component of american foreign policy. there is oftentimes a second school that says, no, one of the most important things the united states has to do over the course of the next several years is to prepare the way for multito larity.

a recognition that other states are rising and that it's important to create institutions and capabilities in which other countries are asked to share the responsibilities of global power. and too often i think it is the case that these two schools of thought are played off against one another. but it seems to me that the most creative diplomacy and the most important diplomacy over the course of the next several years is a blending of both. clearly smart diplomacy asks us, demands us in the united states to take steps to secure american power, to do what's necessary to make sure that our position both as a dominant economic, security and political player endures, but at the same time create capacities and institutions whereby rising states and other states have a chance to interact, engage with us and also can play a larger role in the shaping of these very institutions that will define the 21st century as a whole.

towards that end, asia, as all of you know, have a number of institutions. each with different memberships, with different agendas. it has been said that some have shallow roots and that it's going to be critical over the course of the next several decades to put down deeper roots, to make investments in specific initiatives and institutions and to see those through to stronger completion and stronger roots. so i'm going to go through what a couple of those things -- institutions are and how the united states is proposing to engage with them. the big withest surprise that i had -- biggest surprise that i had with going to the asean regional forum two years ago was how much the institution had advanced in the 10 years that i was out of government. 10 years ago we spent most of our time at the asean regional forum think being with the social engagement. in the intervening period, it has become a very serious

institution. it has been engaged on some of the most difficult and challenging issues confronting asia over the course of the next many years. proliferation, challenges associated with burma, questions related to what is the best way to promote dialogue in areas surrounding maritime security and the like. one of the things that we have sought to do is to use the asean regional forum as a venue to engage key partners, friends and allies on issues of importance. that is one of the reasons why we work closely with so many nations, to underscore a set of principles surrounding maritime security that were associated with the south china sea initiative last year. this year secretary clinton will be going to bali for meetings both bilateral meetings, a series of trilateral engagement, we'll talk about that more in a moment and for the asean regional forum. i just want to underscore that one of the most important things that we seek to do this year

both at the asean regional forum and the east asia summit is to demonstrate very clearly and in no uncertainty the deep commitment that the united states has to work with china in the asian-pacific region. so we will be seeking to highlight areas of common pursuits, of concrete cooperation and specific projects that the two countries are going to be prepared to work together on. so i think we want to dispel any concerns in southeast asia that we see this as a venue for larger competition of the kind that would be destabilizing or unhelpful to southeast asian friends. obviously there's a degree of competition in any relationship and there is that between the united states and china. but we want to make sure that we work together in an appropriate manner in southeast asia. you will see us this summer unveiling a number of

initiatives related to the lower initiative. i want to highlight my friend and colleague who has worked so hard on this. this has to do with specific initiatives, climate change-related, related to education, related to health that affect the states of the region. in addition, after our bilateral meeting we will bring a number of other states and institutions together to discuss ways in which we can advance these people. we will also be working closely this summer and into the fall on ensuring that apec plays its appropriate role in november and this is that towards that end, the state department have worked to shape the agenda, to focus on a few specific initiatives that advance trade and investment in the asian-pacific region and to move it back towards its

original intent. i think over the course of many years it had taken on a set of responsibilities closer to security and we think that it is appropriate that apeck focus more on its original intent in terms of the economic and financial realm. we can talk more about that as we go forward. the president i think as you all know will be joining the east asia summit, the united states will be formally joining in november in indonesia, in bali. and it presents us with a very important challenge. clearly this is an institution that has been up and running for years. it happen -- it has an established culture, it has a work agenda, five particular areas of interaction and activity. it is extraordinarily important for the united states to be successful, that we come in, we listen, we join the culture that is already established. and that we recognize our role

as the newcomer and i think president obama who is an outstanding listener and secretary clinton are deeply convinced that how we join this institution will be of primary importance. i think we've come -- we will come prepared with how to interact on the existing agenda. at the same time i think we will also try to find a few areas where we hope to make modest contributions and give our insights to where we think that the institution should go over the course of the coming years and they will be in areas associated with disaster assistance, one of the things we have found in recent years, whether it be tsunamis or earthquakes, the tragedy in new zealand or japan, is the need for the institution as a whole to have capacities to rapidly respond to those challenges. and i think that's one of the things that we would like to explore when the president goes

to bali as a whole. also hope to continue the practice of the u.s.-asean summit. as you know we had our first ever meeting in new york last year after the u.s.-asean meeting in singapore the year before with. we've had some wonderful suggestions and ideas. we are working with a variety of countries to expand the educational opportunities both for students from southeast asia coming to the united states and vice versa and also to create opportunities for a much larger group of american cohort involved in the teaching of english throughout southeast asia. it is the number one goal of many of the leaders that we work with, is a desire to see their populations more skilled in english and the role that the united states can play in that i think is very much welcomed as a whole. you will also see that in several of these initiatives,

that we'll be focused closely on trade. i think you've all heard and seen the reports about with t.p.p., we've made good progress, lots of work to be done. and i'll let my trade officials talk more about that when they're all together in apec in november. i would with simply say that if you -- i would simply say that if you look at the totalities of these organizations, again, different memberships, different agendas. one of the goals and ideas is to create some form of loose integration or understanding of perhaps how the asean regional forum might relation to initiatives or ideas put together by the east asia summit, how -- the process of defense ministers can work on a variety of issues like piracy and the like and how that can work in a larger institutional frameworks. this is enormously challenging given the plurality of venues,

the difference in memberships, but one that's going to be essential if asia is to enjoy its promise in the 21st century is that the institutions of asia have to reflect the growing dine mitchell and they have to address the specific issues that confront all of us. the united states accepts for all the critical institutions both e.a.s. and the asean regional forum that asean is the central component and that the institutions are built around asean. that does not mean that northeast asian issues or other issues, for example, in the pacific or affecting australia. new zealand, shuzz not -- should not get important attention. in fact, one with of the things that we think is most important is if you look over the course of the last several years, we think that the way that northeast asian issues have been addressed at asean regional forum and other institutions like the eeas, has left

countries want withing a different approach. and i think we want to work with southeast asia on that process as we go forward. on specific countries, i think i will go through these quickly but i think you all understand some of the things that we're trying to work on and i'll just go through that quickly and some of the things that you expect that we'll be wanting to work on over the course of the next couple of years. obviously given president obama's unique experience in indonesia, it has give be us -- given us an enormous opportunity through the comprehensive partnership to take this bilateral relationship to the next level. i think if you made a list of those countries that were important to the united states, they were important to the united states, the united states didn't really recognize their importance, the issue would with be at the top of that list. incredibly important, not only its role as a leader in southeast asia, but also its role increasingly beyond southeast asia in the middle east and beyond. we're finding that the

experience of indonesia over the course of the last several years speaks extensively and importantly to countries in the middle east that are struggling with a number of very trying and difficult domestic issues. we've been very pleased at our progress that we've seen to date with the new philippine government, working closely with the new foreign minister, with great new ambassador here, we've made a number of decisions about partnerships, about how we'd like to work together on maritime security, on a range of economic initiatives and i think we're beginning to see a degree of progress in relations between washington and manila that have been difficult to get traction and we're finding the traction as we go forward. everyone appreciates the important role that singapore has played. i'll talk in a moment about the forced posture very view in which the united states, while

at the same time remaining -- maintaining the very strong commitment in northeast asia is seeking to do more in southeast asia, to send a diversified message and also to increasingly link operationally the concept of the indian ocean with the pacific, points made extraordinarily vividly by bob in his wonderful book "monsoon." one with of the first countries do step up and say, we want to be engaged in this has been singapore. if you want to have good advice, if you want to hear it unvarnished and even if it's tough, go to singapore. and singapore will give you a very clear assessment of how you're doing in the region and that advice and that council has been enormously important for us on every dimension that we've been involved in over the course of the last couple of years, whether it's architecture, whether it's issues associated with trade, whether it's our overal position in the region as a whole. we've made also important progress over the course of the last several years with vietnam. i think you've seen it very

clearly with respect to our economic engagement and a variety of our political interactions. i think the only limiting factor in the current context is the domestic situation in vietnam, we've been very clear with our friends in hanoi of our desire to take the next steps in this relationship, that we will have to see some further progress on the domestic environment as a whole. i find that the strategic interactions with our friends in vietnam are extraordinarily impressive and i think one of the things that we want to do is to make clear to vietnam of our desire and intention to improve this relationship going forward, based on their acknowledgment of some of the situations that they're facing domestically. in malaysia we've seen unprecedented process -- progress on a variety of issues beginning with nonproliferation but not ending there. we've worked closely on a whole host of bilateral initiatives,

the president had an excellent meeting with the prime minister during a nuclear summit last year and i think this is a relationship that has traditionally underperformed and there is a recognition that working together the united states and malaysia can do more going forward as a whole. i'll turn to the last couple of countries as we conclude here. but with i do want to say a few things about the global posture review. secretary gates and his team and others are involved in the very intense process and you know the mantra of diversify politically stable arrangement, our overall goal is to secure a strong en douring american presence that sends a message of commitment not just to northeast asia but increasingly to southeast asia and other countries in the region as a whole. it is an mating feature of the

global posture review and you will see in shangry la, secretary gates unveiling some specific con cements and ideas in the coming days as a whole. let me just say, what's to the-do list? what are the things important going forward? i think the area where with i would like to see, beginning with me, a more consequential engagement is in thailand. we like very much to work more closely, it's a very complex period in thailand. i think you all follow the situation there closely. we have an election on july 3, we have been involved deeply in discussions with friends in thailand about what our expectations are. we've also worked closely with indonesia on the issue situation on the tie--- thai-cambodian border which we hope remains peaceful and see a dialogue in that respect. overall we believe that as a treaty ally, that this is a relationship that we need to

focus on more in the course of the next several months is likely to be decisive. cambodia and laos, both countries in which with the united states has important -- which the united states has important smaller engagements with respect to our overall programs, we have put in place schedules of strategic engagement which frankly have been remarkably productive. we look to take these to the next steps over the course of the next year or so. i think some of the other things that i'd just like to say, the process of creating deeper institutional commitments in asia, whether it's the asean secretariat or a clearer sense of how the asean plus three, for instance, or the asean plus six engages in acts of the eeas, it sounds easy but with it's extraordinarily challenging. but that's one with of the things i think the united states wants to work on over the course of the next several years.

i will say that i think the united states has a very clear view that if it's important, if it's consequential, if it involves the political, the strategic, the military issues confronting the asian-pacific region, then the united states wants to see it at the table and we want to be engaged in those conversations going forward. but i think that process is going to be more challenging and take a longer period of time going forward. most particularly is how northeast asian issues are addressed within the larger context of the east asia summit and the asean regional forum. they cannot be bistandards, they cannot -- they have to have an active engagement in this overall process. it's these vehicles -- if these vehicles are to be important going forward. let me also say that despite our challenges in burma, the united states remains committed to a process of dialogue. we have not changed our policy of sanctions and of various

policies that are designed to put pressure on regime but at the same time i think it's our policy review has underscored that we are prepared to work with the new government in a positive way given the appropriate signs, if there are any, coming from -- [inaudible] . joe just got back from there. we're in the process of going over his interactions while he was there in country. i think it would be fair to say to date we have been generally disappointed and underwhelmed by the progress that we have seen. it is often said, you know, we love when we go to china we hear very complex, wonderful stories, the united states has very few quaint colloquial stories but one of the ones we often use is it does take two to tango. we need a dancing partner to be engaged in this complex diplomacy and we want to see

more from our friends there and it is not enough to say, be patient, give us time. there's been an enormous amount of time, there's been substantial patience first from our friends in asean for years hoping and wait withing for progress that has not come to pass. so despite our disappointment in the elections, we believe that there is the prospect for a dialogue here. we are deeply involved in a dialogue with other key players inside the country, deeply engaged with sue chi and her party as well as other groups that are involved both ethnic minorities and other groups in the parliament and we will continue that process of, shall we say dual engagement going forward. one of the most important things we can do is to build institutions and awareness here in washington, d.c. one of the things that i often tell my friends in southeast asia when they say, why don't

these issues get as much attention? frankly it's because the institutions only of late have gathered enough steam to support our larger goals and ambitions. the u.s.-you a shane -- u.s.-asean business council, he needs more support. again, i just -- i can't -- every day when i look at what they've done, it's just astonishing to me what they've been able to put together but frankly nothing improves performance like competition. nothing improves performance -- i'm sorry -- sorry. [laughter] no. and the ability to be able to put together consequential and important programs. when every southeast asian visitor comes to washington we want the opportunity to bring their wisdom, their knowledge to bear with the group of important americans. i think we can do much more in this respect over the course of the next couple of years. i'm going to be working with a

lot of institutions -- institutional supporters, both think tanks and others to bring this to bear. i think with that, i think i'll stop and i'll be happy to take any questions or comments you might have. [applause] >> thank you very much, kurt. why don't we take questions sitting down so you can be comfortable. i'd like to ask when you have a question, just represent -- tell us who you -- what your name is and who you respect -- represent and please questions not comments. start here in the front. >> mr. secretary, last week 45 senators from both sides of the aisle sent a letter to the president and earlier senator lugar sent a letter to the secretary urging the

administration to approve f-16 sales to taiwan as soon as possible. what kind of an impact will these letters have on the administration's decision whether and when to sell the f-16 c.d.'s to taiwan? thank you very much. >> thank you. obviously i'm not going to get into any specifics associated with arm sales. i would simply say that we take the executive branch through every administration takes the taiwan relations act very seriously. we with understand our responsibilities in that regard and we also recognize that the taiwan relation act requires in many respects a partnership between the executive and the legislative branch. we take that relationship very seriously, the feedback in this respect is important. all i can tell you is that the united states understands our role with respect to the maintenance of peace and stability across the taiwan strait.

>> in the green jacket. >> thank you, assistant secretary. given the importance of you a -- asean to the region, you can tell us a little bit about how you think burma will engage as the new asean chair in 2014 and whether you think that's an opportunity and how the u.s. especially will engage with them chairing asean and the prospects for the future, will it be an opportunity or a challenge or a mixture? thank you. >> first of all, let me say i'm not sure that that decision has been taken yet. i would say in terms of our own bilateral relationship, there are several things that we've been looking for and we've tried to underscore those and we think that progress on these issues would be important in any circumstances, but clearly if that country seeks to play a larger role on the international stage, we have asked that there

be a political process, a dialogue between the new government and-on--on-. we think that's appropriate and we'd like to see that come to pass quickly. we recognize and understand that there is a very large number of political prisoners inside the country. we'd like to see the release or the beginning that have process of release of these prisoners. we think that would send an important message going forward. obviously seeing a more responsible dialogue between the government and the various countries of various ethnic minorities and their organizations inside the country would be very welcome. and also i think we have to underscore that the economic performance of the country and the spending, for instance, on health and welfare is among the lowest of any countries in the

entire -- on the entire planet. we'd like to see some improvement in this regard and perhaps lastly but not in no way least we need to see burma respond to -- very clearly to international mandates associated with the u.n. security council resolutions and the proliferations of materials from north korea. and we have underscored in all of our meetings with our interlock ters, the importance -- interlocutors, the importance to see progress on each of these issues. we recognize that it is a new government and they have just assigned people with new titles, new responsibilities, nevertheless we expect there to be a clear break with past precedence if there is to be a

better relationship with the international community going forward. >> thank you. i have a question about t.v.p. what's your -- >> [inaudible] >> yeah, a question about t.v.p. in terms of postulating the future work of t.v.p., how would you address the intrinsic contradiction between the asean sent tralt and u.s. leadership and also the contradiction between the u.s. leading economy which excludes china and a future chinese dominating 10-plus whatever -- how would you assess this? thank you. >> thank you. it's an important question. i think the key thing right now for the united states is to underscore our commitment to trade in the region. obviously we're in the process

of dialogue with capital -- capitol hill about with the submission of the korea free trade pacts. i think the t.p.p. negotiations have reached a critical juncture. you're correct, i side stepped that. that's largely because of the very important stage that we're at right now in terms of the negotiations and discussions ongoing. i don't think i'm going to get into future particular sort of architectural or additions but i would simply say that the venue is by its design not meant to exclude. in fact, i think there is a clear statement by with the key negotiators and key players inside the u.s. government that there is very much prepared to engage with particular countries who are interested in a dialogue about t.p.p. so i don't think that those

possible additions in the future have in any way been ruled out. >> the gentleman here in the blue. >> hi, bill walker, foreign policy magazine. you mentioned the shangry la summit and secretary gates and you mentioned you might be unveiling some spisks. could you please elaborate and mention what we might expect? >> i think the way that works in government, when someone says -- when someone -- he's going to be talking about the forced posture work that is being done at the pentagon, at the shangry la dialogue and i think that's pretty much washington talk for standby. ok? [laughter] >> in the center here.

>> thank you. you mentioned south china, the issue, and i think it's very important, a year ago this was an issue which created conflict among u.s.-china and asian countries. so a year later, do you think china is putting its role in southeast asia profittably and what more do you expect from china? thank you. >> thank you very much. i very much appreciate the question. let me just say that last year, although a lot of attention to this, if you look carefully at official statements made by secretary clinton and all the people traveling with her and also subsequently you will never once find the mention of any country related to the south china sea initiative. this was an attempt to lay out some clear expectations about norms and process. one of the things that we have seen in recent months that we

support completely is the dialogue that has been undertaken by indonesia as the chair with china. and i think we support this process of dialogue between china and asean on issues related to the south china sea and the united states has in many respects tried to let that process play out. we continue to have a strategic interest as secretary clinton has underscored but we think right now the most important thing is to see a process of dialogue emerge between asean and china and i think that process -- it's fits and starts but i think there has been some progress and i know that leaders in beijing are committed to building stronger ties through a whole range of initiatives with southeast asian countries and as i tried to mention here, one of the things that we want to

underscore in our meetings in asean regional forum is the united states and china want to work together and we want to demonstrate that very clearly through specific initiatives. if i can for a moment say one of the things that has been very impressive of late has been the role that indonesia has played in the diplomacy of the region. you have to look, you know, over years to find such an activist foreign policy. very engaged in trying to conceptualize this dialogue between asean and china and how to make the progress on these particular issues -- and the role in trying to bring thailand and cambodia together very important. i think to have uncertainty at the center of asean has been disconcerting and i think that role has been extraordinarily important and then of course the role that they have played in trying to begin a complex process of dialogue, not only

with stakeholders like the united states and europe, but also the rest of southeast asia with burma, with myanmar. i think that's been very important and we support that completely and i think indonesia playing this larger role, this larger diplomatic role, is very welcome and the united states seeks to support it completely. >> back gentleman in the pink shirt. >> hi. thank you for this opportunity. how does the united states deficit issue shadow the effort you talked about you? said you will maintain the combhitment to -- [inaudible] asia and enhance it to southeast asia but especially on the security side, account u.s. manage to enhance the commitment throughout the region? thank you. >> thank you very much. it's an important question and i

think it affects not only our military presence but particularly our other assets of governance including our a.i.d. work with and that's the work with, that's the capacity that will be most urgently affected. i think one needs only look at the statements of president obama, national security advisor , secretary clinton, secretary gates, a clear desire that over time that the united states shifts some of the center of graphicity of our strategic focus from the middle east and south asia more towards asia. i think there is a recognition that these challenges that we're facing in the middle east are extraordinarily important but the truth is that the 21st century, much of the history of the 21st century will be written in the asian-pacific region and it's going to be important for the united states to step up our game there and i think that's what we are determined to do going forward and again i say

that in the context of a strong commitment across the political aisle. if i can make one other point, you know, it is the case that oftentimes we use the term asia-pacific. but the truth is it's the second word in that that gets short solicit. if you look over the course of the last 20 years where we have profoundly walked away from some of our enduring strategic moral political commitments, it is in the pacific ocean arena. and one of the things that we have been attempting to do over the course of the last couple of years is to work with new zealand, work with australia, work with other countries to support them and also to put more capacity in the pacific or even small investments go a long way, given the challenges of poverty, of climate change, of health and the like. this fall will be the 40th anniversary of the pacific island forum.

the united states will bring our largest delegation involving every aspect the u.s. government from assistance, from the military, from the state department and other capacities to zem straight how strong support -- demonstrate our strong support for an endiring american commitment in the region. -- enduring american commitment in the region. i believe that there is the deep understanding, when the gentleman was asking here about congress, one of the most important interactions i have with friends on capitol hill is that a desire that the united states not step back from the asian-pacific region and to do what's necessary to create the infrastructure, the operating system that will allow for a strong and enduring presence both now and into the future. >> time for two more questions. >> thank you for calling on me.

i know this row already has two questions. >> it's a good row. i always try to sit in that row. >> my question is regarding -- i'm jenny. and i appreciate your work with on asia. my question is, can you give us more specifics on the government to government military assistance regarding coastal watch and maritime security? and also on the [inaudible] corporation. i know it's linked with the human traffic record. is it on track when it starts its implementation this year? >> ok. i think i understand your question. look, you know, we've had some important work that has been already completed on the millennium challenge on

corporation and we look forward to new projects and engagements both in the philippines and in indonesia and also in the pacific as well. there are enormous and important criteria that have to be followed with respect to specific investments and we work closely with the i haves -- countries that meet those criteria and i think we were very pleased to be able to welcome the philippines into this agenda over the course of the last several months. on the specifics associated with our military engagement, i think i could give you a general overview, but probably would refer you to the pentagon to go over some of the specifics associated with with coastal watch and the like. i would i will simply say that one of our goals going forward would be to increase the capacity of friends and partners to play a role in situational

awareness with respect to their own maritime claims and a stronger degree of consultation with respect to issues that take place in the maritime realm. so i think you see with all of our partners in the asia-pacific region that some of our discussions have shifted from simply issues associated with the traditional areas of cooperation which tend to be associated with armies, give the role that armies have played, the role that armies have played in southeast asia, increasingly to naval, coast guard and other expeditionary capabilities, which we think frankly will be central to the maintenance of peace and stability in southeast asia as we go forward. >> last question in the back, the gentleman. >> thank you. secretary, --

[inaudible] i have a question about -- mentioned that the dialogue between china and asia is a -- asia is undergoing and also is making progress, but in the past week, during the past week we saw the new dispute between china and vietnam. does the united states take any position on this dispute? thank you. >> thank you. almost every week we see instances of various kinds between fishing vessels, between scientific vessels, prospecting ships and the like. our general policy remains the same, we discourage a resort to violence in these circumstances or threats and we want to see -- >> we're leaving the last few minutes of this. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> the house is coming back in. the house is live on c-span.

any bill to increase the debt limit and is a necessary part of the proelse is. a no vote today is a vote to put us on a path toward exactly what the markets and the american people are demanding. an america that is a strong, reliable and secure financial investment for the future. i urge all my colleagues to vote no on this unconditional increase and, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: mr. speaker, i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. levin: bringing up this

bill in this fashion is a employ so egregious the republicans pleaded with washington not to take it seriously and risk our economic recovery. if republicans were being truthful, they'd admit their looking for political cover, but in their doing so, they risk blowing a whole in our nation's economy. they'd acknowledge that the time something an effort to change the subject, less than a week after their plan to end medicare, they were dealt a major setback by with the voters whose democratic winner will be sworn in tomorrow. . to act in good faith. to solve our nation's fiscal problems, the republicans should focus on the employ, but on the budget notion -- ploy, but on the budget notions.

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: at this time i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: i yield to a member of our committee, a minute and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for a minute and 30 seconds. mr. pascrell: thank you, mr. speaker. we better not forget how we got here in the first place. the president, when he raised his hand in january of 2009 inherited a $10.6 trillion debt. let us not forget history. i know this is like a kabuke dance today. you are not only not sincere about this but this is all

process. the american people, the folks in my district are not interested in process, they are interested in results. what are the results? how does this help the guy or gal on main street? that's what we should be talking about. this bill we know is going to fail. you already told your wall street friends, don't worry about it, don't take it serious. it's just like a reality show. the republicans have warned their wall street friends and as "the wall street journal" said today, they're in on this, quote-unquote, joke. but as in poker, they're not all in. alexander hamilton founded my city of patterson, new jersey, understood that good credit is integral to being a world power. it is by no means a joke. failure to act will have immediate and dire consequences. now, the world is not going to collapse this afternoon or tomorrow when this thing goes down, this legislation goes down

in a few hours. the majority is willing to risk all that is in order to play political games, to force their failed economic policies. it didn't work in the last 0 years, it's not going to work -- 10 years, it's not going to work now. mr. speaker, this is serious business. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. pascrell: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i reserve at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i now yield a minute and a half to another member of the ways and means committee, mr. blumenauer of oregon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon voiced for a minute and a half. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. there's no more important agenda item currently phasing congress -- facing congress than ensuring america pays its bills and honors its obligation. the accumulated choices of congresses and administrations past and present have created

the debt and the need to honor the obligations. like an unfunded war with in iraq that's going to cost trillions of dollars or an unfunded medicare prescription drug program from our republican friends. we're not going to default on our debt. with over 100 of my colleagues, i signed a letter calling for a kleenex tension and offering to work with the republican leadership so they wouldn't be held hostage to the most extreme members of their part -- party in order to push through draconian proposals that had no chance of being passed which would unsettle the markets and do damage to things that americans care about. like the reckless proposal for medicaid. and additional tax cuts that are unaffordable. unfortunately the republican leadership decided not to treat this seriously. they're bringing a bill to the floor, they're not supporting

it, they've put it on the suspension calendar so it had no chance of passing --age and -- passage and they think somehow this is constructive. well with, it's not. mr. speaker, it's time for us to be serious, to avoid taking legislative hostages, maybe the chamber with of commerce thinks that wall street is in on the joke that is represented by their legislative employ here today but i'm not certain that the american public is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. blumenauer: it is time to stop the games. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: i yield myself such time as i may consume. and i would just say during the eight years of the bush administration the debt limit was raised seven times for a total of 5 -- $5.365 trillion. according to the c.b.o., the congressional budget office, the nonpartisan c.b.o., the score of president obama's f.y. 2012 budget, the debt limit will have

to be raised a total of $35.38 trillion during the four years he's president. that means that president obama will have raise the debt limit at twice the pace that president bush did. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i'll take 10 seconds. i think, mr. camp, s&p 500 did not down grade the threatened, let's be accurate. i now yield a minute and a half to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, mr. rangel. mr. rangel: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. mr. rangel: i think for those of us who are members of congress or within the beltway understand that this is a political things that's going on during one of the most serious financial times that our nation is facing. i only wonder whether or not our

friends and creditors abroad or those that respect the united states and even try to follow our fiscal ways are they i -- thinking that this is the strongest country in the entire world. but for them to follow what we are doing, it is an embarrassment to the house as well as the senate, that the president of the united states of america would ask that our country be safe from a fiscal point of view by allowing the traditional increase in the debt ceiling. notwithstanding the political differences we had, we come together as a nation, not to play games on each other for political reasons, but we come together as a symbol for the free world with to understand that if it's the united states of america, you can depend on us. but now on the suspension calendar, which is an insult to those people who study the constitution in the house of

representatives, which is reserved for noncontroversial controversial issues, when the whole world knows that this is controversial but is certainly not the subject that should be on a calendar called a suspension calendar, so we still have some time to rehabilitate ourselves. i don't know how much more ridiculous we can get. but i do hope that we avoid -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new york's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: i yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, the chairman of the trade subcommittee, mr. brady from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. brady, is recognized for two minutes. mr. brady: mr. speaker, mr. speaker, members, america is undergoing a terribly subpar recovery, one of the worst we've seen, three times worse than the