on "washington journal" host: good morning. it wednesday, september 19, 2012. fallout continues over republican presidential nominee mitt romney's comments of in the secretly recorded video from a private fund-raiser. looking at reaction from president obama to and from nam le's fellow republicans and from people around the country. we're interested in hearing from the republicans this morning to get your take on the gop presidential candidate.

is this a blip on the radar, an opportunity, or perhaps something else? we would like the republican reaction. we have split the phone lines regionally this morning. give us a call at -- everyone can participate in the discussion on our social media platforms on twitter and facebook. you can also e-mail us. a very good morning to you on this september 19. i want to show you how that romney remark is playing in some of the papers from around the country this morning --

we will be going through all these papers this morning. i would like to show the hartford current this morning -- i want to read today from the front page of the wall street journal --

we want to hear from you this morning, from republicans, to get your sense of what this story means, how much it will play in this election. as republicans are calling this morning, we go to james hohmann of "politico" about their reaction yesterday. yguest: the to be with n

ou. the campaign is trying to go on offense, john. this morning they are pushing the idea that obama supports the redistribution of wealth. they are trying to reframe this as two different economic visions for the country and romney supporting the one that a majority of americans support. essentially, they are not apologizing. they are doubling down. the drudge report mr. posted a link to a 14-year-old video of obama in which he uses the term "redistribution" talking about making programs more efficient. the republican national committee is organizing a series of events in nine battleground states. paul ryan and mitt romney will

talk about that at events. they know they cannot change it, so they are trying to embrace it. there is similar to what john mccain tried in 2008 when he attacked barack obama for jill the plumber -- joe the plumber. republican elites are frustrated about this, they see that as larger problems in the romney campaign. a scathing blog post was posted on wall street journal calling romney's campaign incompetent and saying it's time for an intervention, that there needs to be unchanged. there are not many days left and republicans feel mitt romney losing to barack obama.

>host: here he is to talk about his reaction. [video clip] >> i recognize the people not paying income tax will say this provision mitt romney keeps talking about is not going to be attractive to them, lowering income taxes. those that depend on government and those who think government job is to redistribute, i'm not going to get them. host: is the party with him on how he's trying to frame the debate now? exactly what he said in the video -- at all. that is his effort to frame it and portray it in a way that can resonate with the american people and prevent this from becoming even more damaging than it will be. host: how is the white house and president obama and democrats

looking at this? guest: president obama last night said that everybody makes mistakes, but the bigger issue is priorities. obama talked about when he was elected, he promised to be president for all americans, not just 47%. jill biden was campaigning across iowa yesterday and did not talk about the comment at all. -- joe biden. on the flight back to washington last night, he told reporters that he was holding his fire and letting the comments speak for themselves. he said in due time we will have plenty to say about this. the white house is pretty much taking a step back, because the video is pretty damning. host: here's a clip from david letterman show last night. [video clip] >> i don't know what he was referring to, but when i won

in 2008, 47% of the american people voted for john mccain and not for me. what i said on election night was even though you did not vote for me, i hear your voices and i will work as hard as i can to be your president. one of the things i've learned as president is you represent the entire country. when i meet republicans, as i'm traveling around the country, they are hard-working family people, who care deeply about this country. my expectation is, if you want to be president, you've got to work for everybody and not just for some. host: does this continue or is this a blip on the radar? guest: i think the romney folks hard today.ack cards toda

probably next week you will see an attack ad from obama using the comments. then we will move on. ultimately, there's not much to suggest this will move the needle. it's just one data point in a larger narrative of romney running an effective campaign. the key reason is most people don't consider themselves freeloaders, even people who don't pay income tax. they think romney is talking about someone else. very few people consider themselves part of that 47%. many of the people would not vote for mitt romney anyway. ultimately, this is the story of today and maybe tomorrow, but it is already starting to move away from being central. host: thanks for joining us. some comments already weighing in on twitter --

we will continue to read twitter comments and hear from republicans calling in, just republicans this morning, we want to hear from you on this issue. we will start with frank from boston, massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. i don't think it will hurt him much. i think it might have put him in a situation where he will after outgun them. it's not going to keep him from getting his electoral votes. hopefully, this man can put it together and get himself a good campaign thing and win this thing. host: thanks for calling.

on twitter -- and here is the headline from the baltimore sun this morning -- we will continue to hear from

you all morning on this issue from republicans. michael is from the jacksonville, florida. thanks for calling. caller: good morning. i'm calling about the romney comments. it is appalling that the media has blown this out of proportion. what mitt romney said is a fact. 47% of our country is at on entitlements. it does not bother me what he had to say. i agree with him. america needs to wake up. the people who don't comprehend will not understand what he's talked about. host: thanks for calling, michael. he talked about the media blowing this up too much. here is the opinion piece from the "washington times this morning i--

then it's on the opinion page of the washington times,. wes iscalifornia,

waiting on the republican line. go ahead. caller: thanks for giving me the opportunity. i recently changed to the republican party. i am really disappointed in my view and in and my former party. the fair share of social justice is no share. when you have a man speaking the truth that is not a gaffe if that's what he really believes. it.st don't get president obama speaking about redistribution and nobody is jumping on that. the media already has stephen colbert and john stuart. only one television station is not biased. a few radio stations.

the rest of the media is pro- liberal progressive. many don't even try to be fair. host: what about republican commentators in the media calling out the romney campaign on this issue, specifically in the wall street journal today, that the romney campaign is "incompetent?" caller: at least we have one. where is something on the other side talking of obama's failures in the middle east? he got a nobel peace prize and he can walk on water. the lack of protection for our soldiers and our people is terrible. host: some columns today talking about who the 47% are. this is from the financial times trying to break down

romney's comments about the 47% who do not pay income tax. 28% 10.3% are elderly. 6.9% are not the elderly and have an income less than $20,000. those 65 years and older went for john mccain in the last election. those with incomes less than the $30,000 voted for obama, 64% to 33%. let's go to jim from lexington,

ky. jim is a republican, as all of our callers are this morning. your reaction to romney's statements. caller: i thought it was right on the money. i wish mr. romney would get a little more aggressive on obama's failed policies. the liberal media controls things. the "washington times" article was very good. some portray things as the election being over. it is whatever is negative for mr. romney that the liberal media focuses on. you can see the country is not going in the right direction. we need to wake up. the economy is not going well. could be a problem if we get

four more years of obama. host: how do you feel about the state of the romney campaign? caller: at times he is not aggressive enough. i think his campaign is headed ok. i would like to see him get more aggressive, more attacks on obama's failed policies. a little more aggressive. seems they are a little passive and they wait for obama to come at them. host: there's been concern among conservatives that romney has not defined his message enough. do you agree? caller: i do to a degree. he needs to give a foreign- policy speech and needs to articulate what he plans to do and about cutting taxes. there's lots of money out there that needs to get invested. if the cut taxes, i could see the economy -- the stock market would go up 500 points, i do

think, if he won the election. the economy cannot grow under four more years of obama. host: thanks for the call. new polling data out from the wall street journal. the headline -- in terms of issues that we are talking about, the handling of the economy, you can see the president's numbers picking up. that is the green line on the bottom. the handling of foreign policy moving down, the black line. lots of pulling out this

morning -- polling. another one from the washington post in virginia. president obama with an eight point lead in virginia. another jim, from clinton, south carolina. thanks for calling. caller: good morning. when you mentioned how those people pay social security taxes, those have been cut for the past four years. the democrats had the ability to cut the taxes on those people, so those people got a big tax cut in social security payments. i am still paying over 7%. but those people don't pay any federal taxes and also had their social security taxes go down almost in half for the last four years. you have to wonder how a 47% of the people who don't pay federal taxes could have a cut in their social security tax for number of years and could keep electing

a president who's going to give them everything and someone else is going to pay for it. it will not work if it gets over 50% because then it will be chaos. when you look at the teachers' strike in illinois, that's the example of the democratic society that everybody ends up with the same or close to one another and then all fight one another. groupon goes on -- one group goes on strike because they think they deserve more than another. i never see al gore or bill clinton, they keep getting wealthier oand welfare as they have left the white house and they never give away their wealth like warren buffett does. bill clinton on television the other day and at the convention he said that it was the republicans' fault for deregulation that caused this financial crisis. in 1999 he repealed glass-

steagall and gave china a free- trade status and repealed the derivatives -- let the banks go into derivatives. the audacity of him to blame it all on the republicans. host: thanks for the call. lots of comments on facebook this morning -- let's go to little rock, arkansas. rhonda is on the republican line. caller: i did have an opportunity to look at the video prior to your coming on this morning. i felt mitt romney -- i plan on

voting for him, but now i am not going to considering the comments that he has made over the last couple weeks concerning the 47% of americans. we are all americans. we all should be represented. he even sat at that table and said he was counting us out, he was not point to represent us, that he did not feel he would even try to reach us or persuade us. i felt that was really damning to him and for anyone in the u.s. to want to be our president and not want to help all of us or to at least try. basically, i think it is just him catering to the rich. i feel like this is what he does. i just don't feel he would be good for our president. i will not be voting for mitt

romney this year. i am a true republican. thank you. host: thanks for calling. here is the side by side opinion pieces in the opinion section of usa today, the lead editorial is --

again, that is the side by side with a column that mitt romney

wrote for usa today. he writes --

a few more comments from republicans. we will go to salem, oregon. robert, good morning how are yo. caller: how are you. i am hard-core republican, but i voted for obama. i am retired teamster. i feel if romney gets in there, we are -- i'm going to lose my teamster benefits, social security disability, and my medicare. the guys scares me. he looks like he could change a $10 bill -- host: will you vote for him? caller: i am voting for obama. i will vote for obama again even though i am hard core republican. romney is phony.

he looks like a phony. that's all i can say. he could not get my vote if he bought it. after watching the video in secret on c-span,. i cannot,. if we don't put obama in there, he said he might take one or two terms and is going in the right direction, if we pushed romney in there, we are done, it's over. i would lose my teamster benefits, i would lose my social security and medicare. that's all i've got to say. host: thanks for calling this morning. some senate candidates yesterday came out to oppose mitt romney's remarks. one of them being linda mcmahon, who is running for senate in connecticut. this is the story from "politico."

i want to go to arkansas this morning. charles is waiting to chat about mitt romney's comments. caller: when he said was the truth. the problem is the media. 83% to 78% voted democrat. so you can understand why you are getting all this in the newspapers.

by the way, did c-span ever make a comment about the statement that was caught on the microphone when the president was talking to putin and told him in the next four years i will be able to help you out more? i have not seen anything on c- span about that. but when you go back to the media, i want to tell you the gimme people in this world, they cannot stand the truth, apparently. the news media cannot stand the truth either. the gentleman who said that these going to vote for a democrat this time, he may not lose his benefits in the next four years, but i guarantee that if this gentleman gets in here four more years again, he will

lose it within 20 years. this country is going down the drain if we don't turn things around. 47% of the country -- and i am one of them -- don't pay taxes. there's a certain amount of the 47% that will never change. he just told you cannot waste time on people that are not point to look and see what the actual facts are n. the politicians set up there and they will do and say anything for a vote. it looks like some of the people on c-span, you read the papers, as you read this morning, you read one paper, the washington post, the rest of them were all

negative and one of them was positive. go back and look at what you said. host: i read the washington journal and the washington times this morning, but thanks for the call. i want to show comments from a gop senate candidate. this is scott brown of massachusetts distancing himself from the remarks. let's go to norfolk, virginia to tim. caller: thanks for taking my call. i am military and/navy. i have been a registered

republican for years. i became independent last year. i cannot take these neocon republicans pushing wars over israel. mitt romney is pushing more against iran. at least obama is trying to stop that crazy benjamin netanyahu from starting world war iii. romney in san diego on memorial day, when john mccain was out there and he smiled as john mccain called -- host: thanks for calling. the white house spokesman's comments yesterday regarding romney. [video clip] >> when you are president of the united states, your president of all the people, not just the

people voted for you. you heard the president say so many times, because he deeply believes this, that we are in this together, all of us. from the time he began his career in public service, from the time anyone in this room first heard of him in 2004, his message has been about the fact that what unites us as americans is far greater than the things that divide us. and that is fundamental to who this president is and to what to guide him as he makes decisions. host: another comment from facebook -- one more comment from twitter

this morning -- tch fromgo to mi atlanta. caller: let's look at romney 10 years ago. he was a liberal, he was governor of a liberal state, he was pro-abortion. he created romneycare, which is what we have now, like obamacare. mitt romney cannot run on anything other than the pandering he has been doing for the last 10 years and his goal to get into the white house. when he said to the room of people should not shock anybody, because all he is setting is one -- saying is what he really feels. republicans need to get out there and vote for people who are real conservatives. that's all i have to say. host: appreciate the call.

some other political news, this from the "washington times" -- and there is the latest poll on the missouri senate race with congressman todd akin in rasmussen poll at 43% and claire

mccaskill, the democrat, at 49%. another headline this morning is the teachers' strike in chicago at an end. this is the headline of the "chicago tribune" -- i want to go back to the phones on the romney statements from

yesterday that all over the newspapers this morning. now to baltimore, maryland. stephen, thanks for calling. caller: good morning. i'm a 20-year-old college student, conservative and hard, but when mitt romney makes a comment on redistribution of wealth, i would have to agree, because it is hurting the economy. even though i am a beneficiary. as far as him making the comments at a private fund- raiser, that is his own ideology, his own opinion. i don't believe that should affect his campaign in any negative manner. host: this on twitter -- i want to go next to kathleen from north carolina.

how do you think the romney campaign has reacted to the comments yesterday and the fervor it created? caller: i really think the romney campaign needed to sit back and let the rest of the united states think for themselves, because his comments was right. i became a republic in the day after nancy pelosi walked up the steps of the courthouse with a huge gamble in her hand, because i thought the democratic party had left me behind and i don't want to live under the heavy hand of the government. that is exactly why i left the democratic party or they left me. i think he is completely right and there are a lot of people out there that have started taking. help from taking. some of them have to, but some of them -- and i see them every

day at work and everywhere else around and-- they say i don't have to go back to work because i have benefits from. the from it's time for that to stop. . he has . host: should be double down on this message? caller: yes, i think he should double down on it. i am proud of him and proud of the republican party. i was a democrat. four democrat my great, great, great grandfather was a democrat kentuckygislature in in the 1800's. i will not ever live on the government if i can host: help it thanks for calling. a few other stories we want to point out. in this out. police can start enforcing the arizona immigration law, a judge has ruled.

in some overseas news this morning, this from the washington post, the fbi has arrived in libya to probe the deaths of americans at the embassy. secretary of state hillary clinton said thursday --

also, in overseas news, this from the wall street journal, that the u.s. will curb its joint afghan operation.

accompanying that story is a graphic showing some of the attacks from afghan forces that are working with the u.s. the headline is "and friendly friendly attacks." 51 deaths so far this year. and on mitt romney's comments. we are talking to republicans in this first segment. ray is from buffalo, new york.

caller: good morning. i believe c-span has to do something. i have been with c-span 20 years listening. this is the first time i have called. on the republican line is democrats and on our independent line is democrats. the individual who said he was a teamster, is not a republican. he is worried about his penchant. what are you supposed to do as an american, pay for his pension? host: what about the state of the romney campaign? caller: i think the press is in full press motta tried to destroy romney. just the fact we have this subject this morning is indicative of this, because we have more important things going on in the world. the entire middle east on fire. gas prices out of control. we have stopped drilling,

essentially, in the u.s. we have stopped the keystone pipeline. a lot of this stuff in america is self-imposed by this president. romney has brought this issue. to issue. 47% of americans are not paying anythin income taxes and are deriving tax benefits through the earned income credit and other credits. food stamp and wic. all kinds of stuff. poverty is not what people did is in america. there is poverty in india, not in the united states. people in the u.s. been party have three television sets and a car and driving around with nobody working. that's my , and. that's my comment. host: you can watch the entire video at our web site at at c- span.org.

i was senator tom harkin will join us to react to the comments and discuss efforts in the senate to avoid the fiscal cliff. later we will discuss energy issues and campaign 2012 with kentucky congressman ed whitfield. ♪ ♪ >> this weekend, from the national mall, but off annual national book festival. two days of of your presentation then interviews, plus your phone calls, e-mails, and tweets, and it touts.

auto-tune the in i[video clip] >> the country faces the starkest choice of president in my memory. you see, the president and i have fundamentally different visions than governor romney and congressman ryan and a different value set that guides us. >> under the current president, we are at risk of becoming a poor country, because he looks to government as the great benefactor in every light. our opponents have a new model. they say, "government is the only thing that we all belong to." i don't know about you, but i have never thought of government as something i belonged to. >> watch and engage with c-span as the campaign's moved toward the october debates.

follow our coverage on c-span, c-span radio, and online at c- span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: now, senator tom harkin, a democrat from iowa, joins me to discuss a number of legislative issues facing congress right now. we want to get your take on governor romney's comments about the 47% of americans that he says. are dependent on says. guest: first, it is staring that someone of his stature and someone who's been in government as long as he has and in business would say something like that, especially in an unguarded. unguarded that gives you an idea of what he's thinking. does he include students getting loans or elderly relying on

social security or veterans using the gi bill? oftenof people -- i've said government is there to help provide opportunity. that is everything from education to job training to social security to disability. there's a lot of things that we do together that really enhances us as individuals. it seems like governor romney simply want to shred it that kind of social contract. bruce bartlett, an economic adviser to president reagan, said that the ryan budget "was a monstrosity, distributional in, because it shreds"the social shreds which we have built up in america over the last 100 years at least. i just find that governor

romney's statement just kind of bewildering, baffling. host: his comment that these folks believe they are victims and believe the government has a responsibility to care for them. guest: i don't see that at all. when i see a poor family that don't have much and they are struggling to make ends meet and they want their kids to have the best education and get into good schools and get a good education so they can do better in, their in they don't see themselves as victims, they see themselves as part of the american dream. my father had a sixth grade education. my mother was an immigrant. we did not have much of anything. what they wanted for their kids was a decent life. they wanted a good education and other kids could have a better life than they had. that's not victimization, that's

the american dream. host: senator harkin is our guest. democrats and republicans and independents can call on their respective lines. senator, how would you advise the white house response to these statements? as the president made the right comments so far? guest: i have just heard one, the president made last evening. he made the statement that after he got elected in 2008, the night of the election, 47% of americans did not vote for him. he said that evening, 47% did not vote for me, i hear your voices and i too want to be i too and i want to work with all the american people. he was not dividing people up. that's the right response. there are people -- i have been

running for years in iowa and some people don't vote for me, but i don't see them as the enemy. i don't see them as people to be dismissed. they are part of my constituency. i listened to them. i think president obama listens to the american people. that's the way to respond. bill clinton said it best. "the two philosophies, the one philosophy of mitt romney and paul ryan says tough luck, your on your own. that philosophy is not as good as we are all americans and we are all in this thing together." the latter is the better philosophy to follow. host: is this a story that has legs? guest: i think this is very deep-seated. i think this really shows an underlying concept that governor romney has of american society, that somehow people who are not

paying income taxes are totally dependent on government and see themselves as victims, they are takers and not givers. it is simply not true. most of those people and put in that 47% are actually paying a higher rate of taxes than he is. they may not be paying income taxes, but they are paying payroll taxes. the payroll tax is about 15.3%. that is more than mitt romney paid in income taxes as the tax rate. he does not understand what is happening in america to working families and middle class and those struggling to get into the middle-class. he just does not seem to have. a feel have. host: nelson is from colorado springs, colorado, on the democratic line. caller: i am just wondering why a lot of american people are not

blaming congress for not passing basically what president obama wanted to complete in his first term. this last statement by romney is off the chains simply because a lot of people do pay taxes and don't pay income taxes, but they still pay federal taxes. romney somehow does not want to pay its fair share. it's a good program and thanks for your time. guest: there's the question of what president obama has not been able to get his programs through. the filibuster in the u.s. senate. republicans have filibustered over 300 times to stop us from trying to pass president obama's programs. we have to get rid of the filibuster.

host: let's go to james from south carolina on the republican line. caller: senator, i have watched the senate and the house probably more than any other person without getting paid for it, for the last three and a half years. i am a disabled person in south carolina. i am a white guy. i am not a racist, like everybody wants to think. everybody in comes on, the democrats, and they always got this sad song, they are so compassionate. i watched you. you are hydra-headed in the senate sometimes. -- you are hot headed. when barack obama said he wants

to be a president of all the people, when you all pushed through the health care bill, there were people screaming at you all about 70% of the people. did they? want they -- did they wanted that? no. guest: there were a lot of people who were at town meetings back in 2010 on the health care bill. but i think the vast majority of americans realized we needed to change the health care system, that we could not continue the way we were going. i believe as more and more people begin to understand and know what is in the health care bill, the more they are going to really like it. i think we are seeing that happen right now. host: turning to a legislative issues, one is dealing with the fiscal cliff. can you talk about some possible ways of dealing with averting that cliff that are being

bounced around ascent at? guest: there's one way to avert this fiscal cliff, bannister have a balanced approach, which i have been advocating and others also. we did that under president clinton back in 1993. that is a combination of revenue increases, fixing the tax code so it is fair, and some spending cuts. but a balanced approach like that. frankly, the republicans and mr. ryan has taken a lead in this, they have taken an oath not to raise 1 cent in revenues. we just cannot move ahead with that kind of stance that they will not even look at raising revenues at all. when we come back in a lame-duck session after the election, what we've got to do is get to work to have a balanced approach, revenues and some spending cuts.

with that, then we can avoid the fiscal cliff. but it has to be balanced. host: this story notes that a bipartisan group of senators is negotiating -- somethin something you think it's possible? guest: tomorrow the senate will pass a continuing resolution, which is the appropriations bill to keep the government running another six months. the house passed it last week. so we won't face the specter of the government shutdown as we have in the past. so that takes one element of the table. between now and december especially after the election, i think we will see a lot of different ideas come forward to try to handle the fiscal cliff. a lot will depend on the outcome of the election, too.

quitme point we've got to kicking the can down the road. we have the wherewithal right now. we know what needs to be done. we can make those decisions and they should be made in november and december in a lame-duck session. and then we move on. we cannot keep taking it another six months down the road. host: one of the biggest hurdles facing that down payment idea is whether tax increases would be included in the $55 billion tax package. guest: if it's all cuts in education and health care and infrastructure, medical research, then forget about it. it's not going to go anywhere. revenues have to be on the table.

the tax code needs to be revised. many people in this country to pay a little bit more in revenues. they have gotten a lot in the last 10 years. so we need to balance that. host: let's go to north carolina, neal caller: i have a question for tom harkin. he stands of the senate floor knowing obama is a socialist. a-on't know where he is coming from. his dad was a comet. commie. host: ask your question. caller: how can he go home at night and sleep knowing all these things about him? guest: i know him very well. he served on my committee when he was in the senate. everything you say -- quit

listening to glen beck and rush limbaugh. that is nonsense. host: 4 meyer, fla., democratic line. caller: good morning, congressman. i am appreciative of your comments and i completely agree that obstructionism is all that is taking place. they sign the of the grover norquist pact and they are practicing nothing but mccarthyism. ryan and romney are disingenuous and a vague. -- and vain. the president must remain on task.

his work needs to be completed. he has done a great deal and short period time under the circumstances. host: what are your recommendations for the president to win four more years in office? guest: i think he is doing what he needs to do now. he and vice president joe biden are campaigning hard. they are focusing on the swing states. with all of governor reneromne's misstatements and missteps and clarifications, that shipped as not have a writer. the one thing people are beginning to see about president obama is that he has a rudder and the ship is steady or making progress and i believe that is what will win the day. host: your home state of iowa is

a swing state. what do you think the president's to talk about when it comes to iowa? guest: i think he needs to point out that we are making progress and we are in the better off today than we were four years ago. four years ago, we were losing 700,000 jobs per month. the economy was crashing. detroit was going to go under. we were going to lose the whole automobile industry in this country. that is insane. we have turned this around. are we where we would like to be? absolutely not. we have a ways to go. progress is there, we can see it happening. i would say that is the key to our future and that's what he needs to be saying in iowa. we have unique situations in iowa with the terrible drought so we need the farm bill.

we passed the farm belt in the senate with republicans and democrats and supported by all the farm groups, supported by consumer groups, supported by environmental groups. the house will not pass it. the house is locked up and yet farmers need some certainty to know what will happen in the future to their crop insurance, to conservation payments, the milk situation. there are a lot of things that need to be done with the farm bill but the house republicans refused to pass it. host: how much time we have on the current farm bill? guest: until the end of this month some of it will spill over into next year. a lot of them don't. if the house does not pass some extension unti maybe december,

maybe and the lame duck session, we need to make some progress. we passed a farm bill that have $4 billion in cuts in the nutrition program. that is elderly feeding programs, summer feeding programs for kids, some food stamps. we had some cuts there. the house agriculture bill cut by $16 billion, four times as muchthe ryan budget would cut nutrition programs over the next 10 years by $134 billion. you can see the difference. even the republicans in the senate voted only for $4 billion in cuts. the house agriculture committee, $16 billion but the house republicans will not let it come to the floor because they want the ryan budget cut, $134 billion over 10 years in

nutrition. that would be devastating for families. especially for people who are out of work and looking for another job. people think that people get on food stamps and they are on a forever but the fact is that people could get on food stamps, the average length of stay is 10 months until the confined another job. that is what is holding up our farm bill, the fact that the ryan republicans want to devastate the nutrition programs. not only would that hurt a lot of low income families and middle class families that happen to be out of work but it will hurt farmers, too. this is food that is being produced in the united states and it hurts our producers, our farmers, our processors, a double chin of food production in america. for the life of me, i cannot understand why mr. ryan is so insistent on cutting something

that is part of a real safety net in america and that is making sure we don't have people on the street without food. host: this is a note from "the wall street journal "yesterday -- guest: i have been on the ag committee for 30 plus years and i've never known "the washington journal "to support a farm bill. to understand that.

the leadership of debbie stabenow and our ranking republican pat roberts of kansas, we have hammered out a good compromise and make referrals -- reforms in agriculture. we have great reforms within this farm bill. i think wemistaken, saved $23 billion. we actually cut to $23 billion out of our forum -- farm programs in this farm bill. i think we have set a standard for other committees in the congress. host: from twitter -- to surely from houston, texas, on the republican line.

caller: good morning. senator harkin, hasn't this country become like the old children's tale about the grasshopper and the end. ants. >> the ants are working as hard as i can as fast as they can to support people. my question to you, sir, is -- what would be my fair share? what do i have to give that would be fair as far as the united states government is concerned? what percentage of my income does the government want to take from me to give to someone who has not earned it before it simply becomes a matter of confiscation? will you confiscate what i have worked hard for all my life? guest: absolutely not.

that is not the decision to be made. what are the things that the government should be investing in that will help people get a good education, become independent, have a greater life style and there are many other things. there are many things the government cannot do. i like to use the analogy that henry ford had a great idea about mass manufacturing automobiles. how far with those cars have gone if the government did not build roads and highways? how would we have education if our local people did not support local schools? there are many things like that where the government can work with people to make sure our efforts are multiplied and that we can actually climbed ladder and become middle-class citizens. it is not a matter of confiscation.

it is a matter of rational thought and rational discourse on what kind of society we want. let me give you an example of a young man born of lower income parents, working hard, went through school, got an education and a pretty decent job. he had an accident through no fault of his own that left him paralyzed by a vote -- from the waist down he needed some help and assistance. in order to get back to where he could be a productive member of society. should we say to him tough luck? of course not. we understand and sometimes it is not just compassion. it is understanding that a little bit of investment by the government and all of us together actually makes a

stronger. it can be a wise investment in the social fabric, in the human infrastructure of our country. host: we are talking to democratic senator tom harkin of iowa who is the chairman of the health, education, and pension committee which will have a hearing this week to talk about a plan he proposed for reforming pensions and solving the retirement crisis. guest: of all the crises facing us, the one i think is the most threatening right now and is the most under reported is the retirement crisis. we have had many hearings and if you look at what people need in the future for retirement and what they have now, we are short about $6 trillion. 30 years ago, one out of every two americans had a pension. it was something they had until

the day they died. today, is only one in five. half of all americans have less than $10,000 in savings. we have social security, thank goodness and we have to strengthen that but that is only one leg of the still pretty of the leg is supposed to retirement, pensions, and savings. as a result of our hearings, i had offered a proposal to have a new type of retirement system america that will buttress what we get a social security provide the people have a pension, a an annuity, a monthly payment every month from the time they retire until the day they die. i think it is one of the most important issues confronting us. i hope the presidential candidates will start talking about it. host: some to statistics on pensions --

you talk about the usa plans which is a specific type of retirement plans. talk about that proposal. guest: we call at the usa retirement fund because it is universal, where we combined the best of a defined benefit of what you think is a normal pension and a 41 k which is a defined contribution. we have lost a lot of the defined benefit pensions in america for a number of reasons. but it had some good benefits where did know exactly what you

would get an could count on it. the other point with the 401 k is you can't take it wherever you go. i combine the two into a sort of hybrid. this would be a retirement system that no matter where you were, you have a deduction made and your employer would put in some money also that would go to an investment fund led one of the big investment funds and you would be pooled with other investors but you could not borrow from it or take it out in a lump sum but like the 401 k, you would get it matter where you worked. then you would know at every point along the line how much you would get. in an annuity every month when you retire. something has to be done about this. we cannot continue to go down this road of fewer people having

retirement funds. host: next is the independent blind from ohio, good morning. caller: since you switched to retirement, my husband and i were both laid off two years ago. we are both back in school. we use our retirement money and don't have -- and we don't take anything from the government other than we have a sudden who has medical coverage. until this point, we could not afford insurance so our -- when you talk about the retirement, we're hoping we get through school to build our retirement but there are so many people out there that the only thing they have is the government plans, not most of them their fall like lack of education, a

circumstance growing up, what ever. their only chance for their kids is government help on education, their health, and food. otherwise, these kids would have nothing. someone said they do not see poverty in america. i have seen everywhere. these people don't drive escalated. des. host: any advice? guest: i'm sorry about your situation and i hope the economy continues to approve so you can get your jobs back and begin to put money away for retirement. some many people do that. they fall on hard times and they borrow off of their 401k. that is not right. people should not be forced to do that.

burke my retirement proposal, that money could not be taken out. it would be their only for when you retire. it cannot be taken out for other things. it would be secure so you would know you always had their for your retirement. host: here is a simple question from twitter -- guest: there is a broad variety of different spending cuts we can engage in. we have entitlements when people think of entitlements, the republicans think those are the ones that go to low income or poor people but what about somebody who makes over $1 million per year and gets all the big tax breaks? that is an entitlement.

i think we need to look at those entitlements also. i think there is a lot in the defense industry that we could cut in terms of new weapons systems and things that we don't need your old weapon systems that are outdated that we continue to rely on. i think there is a lot of cuts that can be made. if you want to cut spending, let's increase jobs in america, that we cutover on food stamps, you cut down unemployment insurance. the key really to getting -- to cut spending is to increase the number of private-sector jobs in america. that's what president obama is doing and we have to keep on that course. host: let's go to the democratic line on -- from long island, new

york. caller: you are a great man. i worked for 15 hours a day and they took taxes out and if it went to social security, you knew it would be there. i have a mother that has cancer. i want the best for her. how would love for her to continue her social security because that's what she depends on. my father worked two jobs in my mother worked two jobs when. they say they will take that from my mother, it is disgusting. republicans, democrats, or independent, one day you might looking at these conditions of being sick. you want to know that your country will help you. it is mindboggling help people vote against west baths -- what's best for their interest

and kids. i have four kids and i want to know my kids will be fine. it is obama or any other president, it does not have to be democrat -- if the republican president is talking about the same thing, that's the way we will go. people have to start voting for their best interests for their country and the people. guest: i don't know that i have any response. a lot of what she said is great. we have a lot of people in this country to work very hard. think about when you go into a store and you see a woman standing behind the counter, they are standing there eight hours a day or more. you go to a fast-food place and you see people working hard. sometimes they don't even get a break every hour. they may not make a lot of money, they may not go to the country club of mr. romney and

mr. ryan, but they are working hard. they may not even be paying income tax because they don't make enough money. they are working hard and i think we, as a nation, should not just cut them off and say you do not count. i think people like the account for a lot in our society. >> on the farm bill, could you break down what the farm bill is providing money for? guest: the farm bill basically provides money for crop insurance. we provide a subsidy so farmers can buy insurance. it is subsidized by the government. that has been a great shift that has taken place over the last 20 years.

the government used to be able to support a lot of these programs with direct payments. they don't do that anymore. we say you can go by crop insurance and we will subsidize it. secondly, we provide funding in many ways for crops that need to be processed. there are crops that need some support so the farmers know they will have a decent return. most of those support programs have gone by the wayside. we do have conservation payments but we all benefit from that when we have clean water. we protect soil and farmers put in for labor and equipment. we as a government, make payments to them.

that is where most of the money is going. it is not going to a payment for some former for growing a crop. that used to be the case but that is no longer the case. on the issue of fuel, for many years, we had a government subsidy for ethanol production, that has gone by the wayside. what we have is a renewable fuel standard so that a certain amount of our fuel and country will be renewable fuels. there is a production tax credit for wind energy which is prevalent in rural america. host: this credit is expiring at the end of the year? >> yes, it expires at the end of this year.

we have 67,000 jobs in iowa alone building windmills. it is pretty close to 7000 jobs. water plants is laying off 600 people -- one of our plants is laying off 600 people. i think the majority of the country is for expanding tax reduction credits. we have republicans in the senate who are very supportive of the production levels but mitt romney says no. he wants to end it. that would kill the wind/energy in america that is just starting to take hold and struggling to grow. governor romney says he wants to end that particular tax credit. that is not the way we want to go. host: the republican line is

next from lebanon, tenn., good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. you have had on so many different things. i had first said something about entitlements. the center said that he and his family -- his mother was an immigrant and his dad had a sixth grade education. my dad had the same also and everybody wants better for their children which is why they work hard. did the government give his family something or did he work hard and make it so you get some expenses covered. as far as education goes, we

always told our children that you work hard and achieve in school and my children were in the top 5% of their class and we don't qualify for one dime of help with their college education, not one dime. there are millions of dollars going to students for scholarships. for me, i take blunt issue with the fact that we work hard we pay taxes and that promise if they work hard, they'll get a fair shake and they know it. there is programs out there that are benefiting people. that are not u.s. citizens. and u.s. citizens cannot get some of the money we have put into the system. guest: that's the american

dream. that's what my family did -- work hard, say, make sure your kids get a good education, so they can have a little step up from manassas. that is what my family went through, too. i don't know what would happen to my family back in the 1930's during the depression when my father lost his farm. they had six kids and a small two-bedroom house in a small town in iowa. there was no hope. my father the sixth grade education and they had no work. franklin roosevelt came up with the wpa. wpaill have my father's card. later on, my father would show me places that he build better

still being used today -- schools come recreation areas that are still being used today. that saved our family. it saved my dad and gave him hope. then he went on to work after that, of course but i think about that all the time in terms of sometimes people lose their jobs lose their health, have an accident, a variety of different things. over the last 100 years, we have built up a social contract in this country that is uniquely american that we want to reward hard work and want the ladder of opportunity for everyone involved but something happens, weir's is not going to walk away from this. we are part of the american family and will do everything we can to get you back up again and make sure you can work and get a decent income and have a decent life and your kids have a good education at of a good

retirement. host: a lot of potential candidates have been making appearances at the iowa delegation at the democratic national convention. you were there for some of them. did any of the potential candidates for 2016 impress you? guest: i don't know if i want to get into that. i think we have a lot of great candidates out there. they are moving around right now. i just had my 35th annualstate fair in iowa. we just said governor martin o'malley for maryland out there. he is a good friend. i think he has to make great job as governor of maryland.

i think there's a great field out there of a new, young men and women out there who will service very well in the future. host: senator tom harkin, thank you for joining us. we'll have a discussion on energy issues in campaign 2012 and later, we will talk about the recent peace and the consumer financial protection bureau. first, a news update -- >> reuters reports that china's vice-president is very healthy and very engaged. the story goes on to say that the chinese leader in the waiting suffered a back injury from a sport and as this is the clear sackbut -- explanation to date for his disappearance for nearly two weeks. he has met with defense

secretary leon -- leon panetta. earlier to chinese troops and the focus on the asia-pacific region including plans to put a second grader system in japan. this is not an attempt to contain a threat and chat. the u.s. military ships to the pacific has few worries of increased tensions are conflict with china. worse this hour that u.s. ambassador to china has found himself in the midst of protests stemming from a territorial dispute between china and japan. about 50 protesters surrounded his car today and tried to block an from entering the u.s. embassy in beijing. secretary of locke says chinese authorities were quick to move the demonstrators away and never felt in any danger. does the some of the latest headlines. >> when i first came down to

washington, i did not know what to an ig did. as a prosecutor, we would run into their law enforcement arm. i started up a mortgage fraud unit. i did not really know the big picture of what i was doing. one of the first things i did was to meet with the different ig's. i found the inspector general -- although they are suppose to be fierce watchdogs watching waste, form, and abuse, had really become or dislike any governmental agency. their number one concern were things about their budget. they were very worried about clashing with management and worried about too much interactions with congress.

it was very much a get along type of attitude. i kept hearing that there were ahree different types of ig's: lap dog, a watchdog, and a junkyard dog. i think ultimately, in the confirmation process of was told by senator baucus who is not that i needed to be a junkyard dog. >> neil roskam work to uncover abuse. more from his book the sunday night at 8:00. . >> "washington journal" continues -- host: kentucky congressman ed whitfield and joins us now. let me get your reaction to this story we have been talking about

all morning, the mitt romney statement in that hidden camera video and the snow ball reaction we have seen in the press. even some republicans are calling him out. >> in today's political world, people will always be cognizant of what you are saying and where you are saying it. that is just part of a campaign. we know there is a lot of people who boast that the democrats like a larger amount of government. i think he was making a comment that there are a lot of people in america that do that. it was probably a misfortune that statement but a i think barack obama has made pretty much the same mistakes.

the news media will become a firestorm -- host: does it concern you when other republicans distance themselves from what? it? >> it doesn't bother me. if they feel like it is to their benefit to distance themselves, i don't think that is a problem. host: is today the last day we will see the headlines or will continue? guest: it depends on what happens today and tomorrow in the world news. any event -- may be another candidate will say something else and everybody will run to that. if you want to call in for this discussion on energy issues, we

can hear your calls on these lines -- this week, the house republicans are coming in and one big thing they will be pushing is to stop the war are coal act. what is the war a coal? whent: i think it began president obama was running for president. he made the comment that after he became president, you could build a coal plant in america but you would soon be in bankruptcy because of new regulations i think that is precisely what we're talking about. he made clear in his campaign

day was not inclined to the use a coal to the magnitude is is the news today. host: is that was being blamed on this current round of cuts? guest: i don't think you can blame all of it and regulations. you can explain a lot of it. this epa has been the most aggressive in recent years to change the way we produce our energy in america on the transportation side and on the electricity side. the metallurgical market has been a week because there has not been the demand for steel and other parts of the world. they anticipate that will pick up soon.

in kentucky we have one company in bankruptcy. this administration does have to accept a lot of blame for their regulatory decisions and weakening demand for coal. host: the bloomberg story yesterday -- guest: natural gas has emerged but i don't like anyone believed that natural gas will save us long term. i do not believe that these regulations adopted by the obama administration was done with the intent -- they were going to

do with whether natural gas prices came down or not. we are fortunate in this country that we have a lot of resources. we're the number two natural gas producer in the world right now and i think we're number two in oil and we are hide incoal. we have the ability in america by the end of the decade to be almost totally independent on our oil needs. i think our resources are so great that we can even be an exporter of energy and that would help our trade account deficit. host: talk about "stop the war oncoal" act. guest: some of these bills we have passed before but there have been important decisions and things have changed.

the epa can now with a grand house -- greenhouse-regulation. this would stop that. this legislation would also require a tax force to be hired within the government. there would am a act -- analyze the cumulative impact of regulations at the pierre and there would have to look at our global competitiveness. , the impact of jobs in america so we can have a better idea of what the ramifications of so many regulations would be. host: is that a steady or do you have to meet a certain threshold-guest: 1 part a coalk act--one part of the coal

would give more of an opportunity to analyze the impact on jobs and global competitiveness and costs and on electricity. host: clean air defense campaign sent out a released this week calling your bill a war on lungs act. they noted that a lot of these bills have been passed before and are not going to go anywhere with the democratically controlled senate. are these messaging bills? guest: absolutely, we're not going to start -- stop our work on the house side. i like it is important is that the american people it be where

of the contrast of views on energy in america today. that is what politics is all about. isabel messaging and putting up a contrast. host: talk about how this contrast will play out on the campaign trail this fall, specifically a coal issue -- the story shows the states with the largest mining operations. guest: energy, as you know, in

my view, is almost the anchor of our economy. when we talk of energy, we talk about two parts of energy -- there is transportation, energy you need for transportation and energy you need for electricity. energy goes a long way in determining how competitive america is in the global marketplace. if energy production costs are too high, you have more companies leave america and go elsewhere i think anyone in the coal industry, no one to be surprised that they sleep. i'm not aware of it president deliberately saying he plans to bankrupt and industry. everyone has heard that, but

what upset me the most about the so-called work coal and i believe lee said jackson has conducted this poll, when they come out with regulations, they always talk about the health benefits. i would be the first to admit the clean air act has been very successful. we have cleaner air today than we have ever had. we're all proud of that. it is excellent. at some point "-- a point of diminishing returns. i don't care what the regulation is that they're proposing, when they come up to testify, they come up with arbitrary numbers of how many people they will prevent from going to the hospital, how many people will be prevented from premature death, all based on models which are very subjective. they always talk about the benefits of health.

they never, ever talk about or consider or analyze in any way the impact on those families in the coal industry's that lose their jobs and help ben. the fed's -- and health benefits. one of the key things about health is your financial well- being. if you keep adopting policies that the federal level, that is putting people out of work. their ability to earn a living will be decreased. host: let's get some calls on

this issue from a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i have listened to thefull tape on msnbc. i got very upset. host: are you talking about mitt romney? i'm upset that he ran down the senior citizens. i worked until i was 72 years old. my husband was 75 when he quit working. my husband has passed away and i am on social security. it was included in his contract that people living off of the government. it upset me that he would

include senior citizens that have worked for many years paying into this i think he should apologize. guest: i understand how people can be upset. i think it is important to emphasize that in political campaigns, many people make statements they wished they had not made. i will not convince you who to vote for because you make your own decisions -- having said that, i put in enough time with mitt romney and paul ryan to know that both of them are supportive of the sole security problem and the medicare program.

all the comments that have been made about social security and medicare and even medicaid is that going down the road, we will reach the point where these programs will be totally bankrupt are taking a more and more of our overall budget. they are looking at ways to save the program for the long-term. one thing they have made clear and whether they made it clear or not, congress would make clear is that anyone on so security today or that will be on it within the next 10 years or so, i'm not will vote for a program that i don't blame anything -- that i don't think would change the benefit in any way. it would be unfair because you paid into this program with the expectation that it would be there for you. host: here is a question from twitter --

guest: but i did not name this bill. i think that is a valid criticism and a good comment. i am out in my district and i don't talk about war. i talk about the policies of this administration and the damage it is doing to be coal industry. host: guest: we have adequate safety issues out there andosha is very energetic in its enforcement of workplace rules. obviously, health is an issue in many different aspects.

you reach a point of diminishing returns with some of this. if they're going to consider health benefits, they need to consider the help of the costs for people who lose jobs. do you believe global warming is happening? guest: i believe global warming is happening. we know temperatures of the earth change up and down over time. the difference in republicans and many liberal democrats on global warming is that 99% of the earth's atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen and the amount of co2 is very minute. we say we recognize that human activity does affect global warming. we have gone through cooling. and heating.

. the issue is, how much does -- do we contribute? when you consider men made guides admitted to the air and compare that to a volcano, to very minute. the real issue is how much we are contributing to it and as a point that nobody knows the answer to. >> logo -- let's go to michael on the republican line. caller: good morning. i would like to hear what mitt romney said was wrong? that's about it. guest: thank you for your comment. many people already know how

they're going to vote for president. if you like obama you will use this to get him elected and if there are people who depend on the government for many benefits. it is easy to see a ro mr.mney made that comment but it probably was not good that he did sell host:. let's go to the independent line from florida this morning. caller: good morning. i was involved in the energy conversation business for over 40 years and i am retired.

back when to be carter started his nuclear plant in tennessee valley, he wanted to get cheap electricity to that area which was much needed because that would bring in fresh industry, clean industry there. as soon as he was put out of office, but cut the funding so that nuclear plants that are still sitting there and the people in the appalachian district valley are having the highest electricity rates in the country. been bettert have left to have the plants completed to provide cheaper electricity?

it is unfortunate what is coal industry theoato the would may be another investor will pop up for that area. guest: thank you for your comment. i will be the first to it now is thattva played a vital role in providing electricity to the southeast. nuclear energy does have a vital role to play. i would explain to you, as you already know, the federal government has spent $10 million on yucca mountain as the place to store the waste material from the nuclear power plants. after we spent that $10 billion, this administration with the of r a juroreid, they

basically stopped yucca mountain. the federal government have already entered into a contract it years ago that the federal government would take possession of this nuclear waste material and the federal government would move into yucca mountain. utilities are paying fees for that type of thing. when the government cannot take possession of the materials and moved to yucca mountain, the nuclear power plants saw -- registered lawsuits and has obtained judgments against the federal government in excess of $14 billion which is increasing every day because the government cannot take a position of this waste material. one of the big problems we have a nuclear energy today relates to our problem of disposing of the waste. in some countries, they do

reprocessing. when jimmy carter was president, he signed an executive order that prohibited reprocessing. i think we can do it today because i think that has been overturned. we have some technological and cost issues with that. nuclear energy does have a vital role to play. host: this is from twitter -- guest: i think the coal industry in america is the most technologically advanced and were in the world. production is a real issue. i was speaking to the chairman of csx recently who said there

will be a c moreoal for export and that a time in our history. coal production has not been a problem but i don't know how many people are aware of this -- if they finalize the greenhouse gas regulations, you will not be able to build a coal-powered plant in america because the technology is not there to meet the emissions standards. production is not a problem, i don't believe. technology to do the production is not a problem but i think it is regulation right now. host: from college park, maryland, on a democrat line -- caller: good morning. i have comments about coal and oil and comments about her mitt romney. for the coal industry, we should take this thing seriously because when it reaches critical

mass everybody will be affected we only have one plant to live on. the second issue is about oil. we should not wait until the world goes to war over the last barrel of oil before we start digging about alternative energy. we might as well start looking for other forms of energy now. my comment about mitt romney -- we are not government parasites. people have fought hard for women's rights in this country. women are in college in record numbers. they are not on welfare. guest: i certainly did not save that everyone who supports the

democrats are on welfare. i know that many women from both always make their decisions based on government benefits but they have. we need a safety net. it is critic and obstacle to creating new jobs in america. that is an issue as well. i would be the first to recognize that on social issues like abortion that different women have different views on that. i understand that women have their right to say who controls their body and who makes decisions about their body and their health. there are many people that want to speak up for the unborn.

america is divided on this issue. i understand social issues played an important role in any decision you make in a political candidate. host: the issue of drilling and oil. we have an e-mail. guest: oil companies are paying $85 million a day in taxes. oil production in america is up today. today we're producing more oil than ever bought it has nothing

to do with president obama. oil production has gone down significantly. oil production is up because of the exploration in the bachmann field, of which stores not $1 of government money in producing it. this is up and the dakotas. that is why you see an upsurge in the domestic production of oil and domestic production of natural gas is up. we have some big fields in texas. experts believe we can be independent for oil and natural gas in america without having to bring in oil from the middle east over the long term. overall production is up.

production on federal land is down. i think anyone that looked at this issue and looked at permits would recognize that this administration is making it difficult to obtain permits. we had an incident in alaska where one company spent $4 billion and after six years received the first permit for exploration. yes, this administration is issuing permits but it is taking a long time. production of oil on federal lands is going down quite dramatically. host: let's go to jackson, mississippi, eugene is on the republican line. good morning.

caller: i have a few comments to make about the coal companies. they started streamlining and in eastern kentucky their ruined some streams. they are just recovering from it now. i voted republican since eisenhower in 1956. about these comments that romney made. our party has been beating jimmy carter to death for it 30 years. he started the solar and the wind energy thing. it was his grandson that made public these comments that romney made. maybe we should stop beating somebody about things that happened 30 years ago and romney

would not be in the position he would be in today. host: referring to jimmy carter's grandson. guest: i wasn't aware who did it. if you are in public life today, you can bi somet -- you can bet that somebody is going to record a viit. host: let's go to kelly. caller: i was on my way to work and listed to obama's stand on coal. i'm a coal miner's daughter in southern illinois. i think they are reaching when they say it is going to help. miners suffer from lung disease.

if they lose their jobs and their families lose their health care and their means of income, how that will effect the economy. the coal mines have closed down. it devastates small-town america. it is gone to have a trickle- down effect on future degenerations. they can no longer send their children to college. they do not have adequate health care. look at the big picture, listening to the previous callers -- the planet is very valuable. if they invested money into we have aloal --

natural resource here. we can keep jobs here. we can become less dependent on foreign oil. why would we take jobs away from this country and drive the cost of living up for us? host: give you a chance to jump ain. guest: thank you for your comments. we have a lot of coal, oil, and natural gas. let's be reasonable and have some common sense. it is not right when new regulation puts people out of work and you do not consider the cost of that. we recognize the clean air act has improved the air quality.

you might reach a point of diminishing returns. it is important to recognize that you explore the cost of it as well as the health benefits. costs are not considered by many of the regulations coming out of epa. people losing health care and losing their jobs. we have the ability in the near term to be almost virtually energy independent in america. host: june on the democratic line from georgia up next with ed whitfield. caller: i like to make a comment and be given a minute to make my statement clear. big business control our government. this man represents big business. they tell the political people

that they pay and they have a hand in their pockets with what they want. the big oil company met two days before the republican convention. mitt romney represents big corporations. they do not lookout for the little people. the republican party is using that stereotype that the poor or minority people do not want to get out and go to work and getting the tax payer dollars. when you get up in the morning, stand out on the street and look at the many people of color and poor people and white people going to work every day and working at target every morning serving donuts and coffee.

host: you helped to write the energy plank in the platform. you can talk about the energy stance. guest: i would like to make a brief comment to the lady from atlanta. businesses create jobs in america. two out of every three jobs in america historically has been from small businesses. i didn't think we should say because some company is large and the company has been successful that they are inherently evil. i understand people said that mitt romney has a lot of these friends and he was at bain management at the acquired companies and sold companies and created some jobs. i want to give you one example

and i could give you more where president obama has been very close to large businesses. there is a gentleman in oklahoma who is one of the principals in solyndra. solyndra received a firefighter $30 million loan guarantee from the federal government. he raised money for president obama. linder went bankrupt -- solyndra went bankrupt. there was an agreement that those private individuals that put money into solyndra would get their money back before taxpayers got their money back. i do not think it is quite as one-sided as people think it is.

host: do you think solyndra will play into this election? guest: absolutely there are some people that it bothers, particularly when you subordinate the taxpayers to a venture capitalist and make sure they get their money back first, as was the case with solyndra. i do believe the president made a significant mistake at the beginning of his administration. instead of adopting a sound policy to stimulate the economy, i believe that he set out with two focuses. he wanted to federalized healthcare and to change the way that we produce energy in

america. that is why billions of dollars went to sometimes risky ventures for wind power and solar power. i would be the first to say we need wind power and solar power. but they are not going to provide the base load electrical needs of this country. he spent a lot of money on electric cars. even today the volt is about a $42,000 on a bil automobile. tesla is producing electric cars that cost $100,000. he he made a mistake in pushing the

country towards electric automobiles too fast. host: we are talking with ed whitfield. a few more calls for you. a call on the republican line from florida this morning. caller: good morning. praise be for c-span. two issues of imminent danger to the united states. sunflares knockout our electrical grid in the united states. i talked to my congressman about this. i want the presidents to discuss the imminent danger. i want you to join and discuss this. there is a shield act proposed

and that needs to be considered and passed by congress as soon as possible. there's a new book that says we have reached the peak every thing in our modern way of life is in jeopardy because we are running out of resources. i want your reaction to the shield act and talking about the sun flares which could knock out rical grid.n belgra guest: presidential candidates should be talking about it. it is a priority for the house and senate to pass legislation to address that issue. as far as the book, i've not had the opportunity to read it.

i have sat in many hearings and i'm convinced that instead of reaching a peak of our resources in america, i think that we have immense resources in america. we had a hearing two weeks ago and we had a lot of witnesses that said citibank researchers did a thorough analysis of it. other companies and scientific groups have done analysis and they believe we have an opportunity to be energy independent in america and even be a point where we can start exporting energy to help our trade deficit. host: russ on the democratic line from richmond, virginia. caller: good morning. i heard about the workers and

how they are out of work. wen they were in worked -- when there were in work, the government did not enforce the osha fines and regulations that they broke. the owners of the coal miner operations said it is cheaper to pay the kosher finds them to take care of our employees. i remember in south america where millions of dollars were spent to rescue eight or 10 men. the calculator stuttered out costing $200 and you get one for $2 now. i would like to know how often you speak to lobbyists. thank you for taking my call. guest: speak to lobbyists --

once or twice a day, at least. everyone in this country has lobbyists in washington, d.c. they all come up and talk to us about their views on certain pieces of legislation. host: talk about your bill on limiting epa offering financial assistance for international greenhouse gas activities. this is something you have been looking into. guest: eta this have the authority to give money to entities around the world for various projects. while the amount of money when compared to a $16 trillion

gigantic,ebt is not e it does represent over $100 million, and some of the money goes to entities here and a lot of it goes directly to china. this is a substantive piece of legislation and it is symbolic. if we are going to be able to balance our budget and control our spending, the u.s. through epa should not be giving money to china because they are financing our government anyway. we are borrowing money from china and giving back to china that we don't have to do. this legislation would say to epa that you cannot give any more foreign grants to countries at this time. host: craig hook came before

your committee and talked about this bill. guest: they are using more and more coal in china all the time. we have the atmosphere that travels around the world. i'm glad we introduced this bill. it brings to focus -- anytime you talk about reducing federal spending, you will destroy our n.j. a we cannot live without this money -- you will destroy it our industry and we cannot live with this money. we have to be serious about addressing the $16 chilean debt

-- $16 trillion in debt. host: congressmen ed whitfield from kentucky, thank you so much for joining us. we'll be right back after this news update from c-span radio. >> the commerce department says the construction of new homes and apartments rose just over 2% to 750,000 last month. even with those gains come at the rate of construction still remains about half the pace considered healthy. mitt romney's words from a closed-door fund-raiser is now appearing in a tv ad in support of president obama. teh ad shows clips -- the ad

47% oflps thips that americans are victims. it closes with the narrator st. mr. romney whenever convince middle class voters that he is on their side. it will run in colorado, ohio, virginia, and wisconsin. an update on the video of mitt romney. it was released yesterday by " mother jones" magazine. the video is missing one to two minutes at the most import part. there are questions raised about whether "mother jones" had revealed the full video. "something is missing.

his 47% answer was cut off before completion." he obtained the following comment saying, "the recording device in and firmly turned off ." one to two minutes was missed. a key portion of the video is missing. those of some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. [video clip] >> i did not want to be either one of those books. i wanted to enter the most important question. look at barack obama as a

character. he is a complete fish out of water. he has very little executive experience. he was that the illinois state house or the u.s. senate or various meetings. he was never the guy in the front of the room deciding the hard calls. suddenly he isn't the most important managerial job in the world. he is president of the united states. my question was, how does he do woit? govern? the governmenhe this weekend the author sets down on c-span2. "washington journal" continues.

host: we want to open the phone to any public policy issues that you want to talk about. the lines are open if you want to continue discussing mitt romney's comments. the democratic line is 202-737- 0001. the republican line, 202-737- 0002. independents, 202-628-0205. outside the united states, 202- 628-0184. any public policy issues you want to discuss. we want to -- a few more stories about the romney video -- we want to read you a few more stories about the romney video making headlines today.

host: "the new york times" goes on to note -- host: speaking to a nevada tv station on tuesday, paul ryan

echoed mr. romney's line of attack. we will open the phones to any issue you want to talk about. we start with jim in washington, d.c., on the republican line. caller: good morning. i was watching the tv. they sure you vote the right choice. the republicans are going to destroy everything for the senior citizens. between 35 and 40 votes and i blame congress. the citizens should vote congress out because everyone should work together with the president's . host: that was jim in d.c.

this is a new "the wall street journal" poll. host: we will go to wisconsin. mike is on the democratic line this morning. caller: i'm amazed i got through.

a, made by the taxes -- a comment about the taxes. we pay as part of the tax on gasoline. i would like some clarification regarding that. in regards to solyndra, i don't know why there's so much resistance to wind and solar. there was a flood at the market after its lender was proposed. that was in part because them to go bankrupt. host: are you involved in the solar industry? caller: corporate america kind of let me go. the rest is history. i am in a boat that is sinking.

i want to show people how to save money. i did not say the argument for coal and coil oil. what would become an exporter and get some of that money back? host: this idea of picking winners and losers that the loans that were given how. caller: isn't that what they are doing right now what the oil industry? host: do you think all of the industry's should stand on the wrong two feet? caller: i think a lot of the subsidies should go away. we go into these countries and protect our "assets"?

that is going in the wrong direction. host: this production tax credit is coming up -- confident that congress will renew it? caller: too many republicans opposing everything. i do not think they are doing a good job of representing the people. host: mike from wisconsin. thank you for calling in. this is a piece about the wind energy tax credit and want to read a piece entitled "puff, the magic drag on the economy."

host: it would mean an additional $12 billion cost to taxpayers over the next 10 years.

doing open phones in this last segment of "washington journal." sarah from west virginia, good morning. caller: good morning. if it was jimmy carter's grandson the released that tape of mitt romney, he should have released all of it, including the question that got that answer. mitt romney was not talking about the elderly and handicapped and people who are in honest need. he was talking about some people who would vote for obama keep the checkust coming. he was telling the truth and i'm proud of him and i'm rooting for him and hope he wins and i'm praying that he wins because i think we will be in big trouble

if we get obama in there for another four years. host: a story on the background of how those comments surfaced in that tape from "usa today."

host: the story also got a hand from james carter. host: it is open phones on "washington journal." brandon from north carolina. caller: hey, guys. thank you for taking my call.

how come no one ever talks about our hydro electric energy when it is is the cleanest energy on planet earth? nuclear energy has waste that can never go bad. i do not understand why we do not have hydroelectric plants on marour coasts. host: are you in the energy business? caller: i am a plumber in western north carolina. we have three dams that produce more energy than any other county. host: problems with their energy bills? -- with your energy bills? caller: it is outrageous.

the co-op cannot afford to upgrade for the epa, if you look through the fine print. host: are the candidates talking about energy on the campaign trail? caller: they are talking about energy. all i hear is nuclear, coal, oil, and i did not hear anything about hydroelectric. host: we go to west virginia to constance. caller: i am a democrat and catholic. we live many steel mill town. at one time they sold us a bill contract, the board of directors knew that it would not take. it would not happen. they roll republicans.

the rummy issued was present then -- the romney issue was present then. they sold us this and they knew it was not going to happen. they sold without telling us, the board of directors. that's what he is talking about. only one person on the board was a democrat. if you can read it, you'll understand. that is the republican mentality. host: paul from pittsburgh. caller: good morning. i want to comment on the romney comments. portion of those comments were inarticulate. i think that the discussion we

need to have is one concerning our entitlement programs. we cannot continue this in same spending. will become like europe in another 10 or 15 years. i was listening when you had a republican on the line this morning commenting on the rummy subject. i would recommend you have a program that you dedicate to just the democrats -- commenting on the romney subject. it was appropriate for the president and less than 24 hours after an ambassador and three americans were assassinated to go to a fund- raiser in las vegas? his comment about the redistribution of wealth and he made comments in pennsylvania about religion and guns and people were angry.

host: we're seeing this from "the hill." "time for an intervention." concern is that republicans are piling on for this video slip? caller: you'll find republicans with the opposite view. i listen to governor christie the other day and he supported the comments. a number of other republicans. you were talking about a candidate in connecticut and massachusetts. of course they will be critical. they are trying to win and election. then you have the belief is part of the republican party -- then

you have the elitist part of the republican party. host: thank you for your call. two are distancing themselves from mitt romney's comments. one of them is linda mcmahon, former executive at world wrestling entertainment. she says -- host: amber on the independent line from los angeles. what is undermine this morning/ -- what is on your mind this

morning? caller: thank you for taking my call. i think a president should have a little bit more thought about what he says to any group of people. as my family has been in this country and i've worked my whole life, i've never been on government assistance. but i do pay taxes. i don't feel that we are victims. i do not feel we are victims. my uncle has a purple heart. i look at how he now needs because he served his country a little bit of assistance. i think it is awful the comments he made. i wish he would say, does he feel that way about us who work in this country day in and day out, struggling to survive and

getting our kids to school. does mitt romney feel that way about 47% of americans? that breaks my heart. host: thank you for calling in. these are mitt romney's comments from tuesday. [video clip] >> i recognize those people not paying income tax would say this provision of lowering income tax will not be real attractive to them. those dependent on government and those thin-- i am not to get them. host: you can see those entire comments on c-span.org. it was published by "mother jones" magazine originally. president obama was discussing

mitt romney's issues. [video clip] 47% of thewon, american people voted for john mccain. i said, even though you didn't vote for me, i hear your voices and i will work as hard as i can to be your president. one thing i've learned as president is you represent the entire country. when i meet republicans as i travel around the country, they are hard-working family people who care deeply about this country. my expectation is if you want to be president, you have to work for everybody. host: it is open phones. we have discussed energy issues

and the 20 top race. we have a tweet from sean. host: james also writese i in on twitter. jeff from las vegas, nevada. good morning. caller: i like to comment about nuclear waste. the people held a referendum and the decision was to not have the whole country store their stuff in our backyard.

representative ed whitfield was to build a nuclear power plant in kentucky or tennessee. they want to transfer all the nuclear waste across the country to the state of nevada. the state of nevada has no nuclear power station. we do not want the nuclear waste to be stored in our waste. we're proud of how read for standing behind the people of nevada. have a nice day. thank you for taking my call. host: jeff from nevada talking about the nuclear depository that was scratched in nevada. gloria it is on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i find it interesting there are some money democrats, nixonites.

i was reminded of nixon because he was impeached for listening in on campaign information that was being conducted by the democrats. my comment is that i do think we should get together and make some good decisions about our environment. i think the discussion going on today has been a very interesting. it is not just one party that is interested in proper sorts of energy. i think we as americans are interested. that is my comments. host: thank you for calling. chris from maryland rates sent on the environmental issues -- writes in on these environmental issues.

host: that is chris from woodbine, maryland, this morning. lou is next from connecticut. caller: the blithering idiots calling to c-span. you were talking about global warming before. most of the idiots have not heard about climate-gate. the sun decides what the temperature that earth has been. you have heard about the medieval warming period. they were going high-quality

wine grapes in england. they not own wine grapes in england in a thousand years because it has been too cold. host: we go next to rhonda from arkansas. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to respond to the elderly lady that said that theey wasn't speaking about elderly people. he was speaking about people who previously wanted to be on the rolls. more elderly people support mitt romney. turn medicare into vouchers.

turn social security into a betting game. you are deluding yourself. i wanted to speak about the green energy like solar power. people do not want it. oil is still being subsidized and it is not a new technology. there has not been an adequate and the campaign -- ad campaign for green energy. let the prices get lower and on a marginal plane we would be able to afford it. it needs a good ad campaign. campaignadeeda a

and then it would takeoff. host: chris from alabama is also writing in on twitter. we go to wayne from westminster, maryland. what is undermined -- what is on your mind? caller: as far as jobs programs and energy programs -- we have millions of roots in our country -- millions of roofs in

our countries that could have solar panels on them. that would be a start for a jobs program, to produce and install. we have water systems in our country that our 100 years old, many of them. we spend millions and millions of dollars every year purifying water and it seeps out of pipes that are 100 years old. if we were to start a national program of refitting our municipalities with new water systems and purification systems -- we have contaminant'' that didn't exist in the 1950's

in our water system now. we need to upgrade our water systems. there is so much -- our health care. we have 50 million people that are ready to come online with health care and we don't have the personnel in our health system to take on these additional 50 million people. more for jobs programs. host: thank you for your thoughts this morning. lots of folks waiting. this is becky on the independent line. caller: good morning. mitt romney did not say that he did not care about 47% of the people. he said they would not vote for him. if you are not going to vote for

him, do not vote for him. there is a documentary on the documentary channel. a thing about the qe3, 4, 5 however many they are going to do here. that is the distribution of wealth program. it is going to an elitist thing.g government tied thinype all these people that want jobs will have jobs but they will be low-paying and they will not be able to support themselves so they will have to go on the government thing. that is what the whole obama deal is. if you read the book and i

cannot remember the name of the book. that is what they want to do. they want to collapse the whole economic system. host: becky, thank you for the call. latoya, what is on your mind? caller: thank you for taking my call. i am 26. the clip that you showed of president obama earlier -- he still wanted them to know he was a president for the people. that is a statement that mitt romney needs to grasp because that comment was out of left field. i'm married with four kids. we are a military family. my husband was dismissed on a military. since then, our income has

drastically dropped. we have to look at public assistance. i think that obama's plant is is rightobama's plan because he is trying to strengthen the middle class. most of america was built on the back of the middle class. we cannot say that we will forget about the middle class and look at these upper-class people to get the country where it needs to be. the country was built on the back of the military, the everyday blue-collar worker. host: we have a few minutes left with open phones. richard from arkansas is next. caller: notice that a lot of the news agencies are using the nbc/"the wall street journal"

poll. other polls have it as a dead heat. tapenly this man romnromney shows up. thank you for your show. host: thank you for calling. sheery on the independent line -- sherry. caller: i wish americans would take a big, deep breath and chill for a minute. what men grommet was talking about was the people that are -- what mitt romney was talking

about was the people that are a perpetual on welfare. he was not talking like the one woman said. he is not talking about you, it is he? it is the people, especially young women with a bunch of children and i'm not saying black or white. it is about welfare. it is to people with all these children. thtey get on welfare - -they get on welfare. they can stay there for three weeks. on the fourth week -- host: we will move on. bill is waiting on the

democratic line. caller: i'm tired of people looking at people's shoulder and word about welfare and complaining about that when people are making millions and just laughing and everybody argue. we are not turning into a country like greece. we should be turning into a country like germany. we would not have a problem that we're having now if they would do like the germans do for their citizens. thank you. have a good day. host: one more