with scott winship. later, security concerns ahead of the olympics. "washington journal" is next. ♪ good morning. one week after the recess, congress is back in session this week. tuesday night the president will fulfill one of his constitutional obligations i delivering his state of the union address. in the week ahead the president will hit the road in a series of campaign style rallies to pay attention to specifics in what the white house is calling a year of action. will you be watching tuesday night? do state of the union speeches matter? we will begin with calls and comments ahead. our phone lines are open. the numbers --

you can also join us on facebook and twitter. weekly" lookscq like. there is this from "the hill" newspaper -- this is will include just outside of washington dc, also milwaukee,gh, nash heard. -- ashford. you can get more details online.

we will be getting to your calls in just a moment. a look at the other guests and topics making up sunday morning programs. nancy callow's in the c-span radio studios. >> the topics will include the president's upcoming state of union address, security at the upcoming olympics in sochi russia, and politics in 2014. you can hear pro--- here rebroadcasts of all programs on c-span radio. kentucky senator rand paul and assistant majority leader dick durbin of illinois. also california democratic representative loretta sanchez and former homeland security cherdoff.tur peter king shares the house chairs theorism --

house counterterrorism committee. on fox news sunday, dan pfeiffer, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, and former socratic senator evan by. follows bye union three. -- follows at 3:00. at 4 p.m. it is faced the nation with cbs. -- face the nation on cbs. the sunday network tv talk shows are on c-span radio and brought to you as a public service by the networks and c-span. rebroadcasts of all the shows begin at noon eastern with "meet the press," 1:00 is abc's "this fox news sunday, state of the union follows at 3 p.m. eastern, then face the nation on cbs at 4:00

120 on siriusnnel line ato or listen on cspanradio.org. host: our preview programming getting underway here at 8:00 .astern time the republican response by cathy mcmorris rodgers will follow the state of the union. speech hear and see the from time to sit evening. all this is available on our website. you can join the conversation on our facebook page. we are asking the question, will you watch the state of the union address. this weekend we are featuring some past state of the union addresses from 30 years ago, including this from 1990 four as

president bill clinton talked about the importance for health care in america. from our library, here is bill clinton. [video clip] them and today system insurance companies call the shots. off your benefits when they need your coverage the most. what does it mean? and means every night millions of well insured americans go to bed and are just a pink slip away from having no coverage or financial relief. it means every morning millions of americans go to work without health insurance at all. worlds something no other that no other country in the advanced world does. more hard-working people are being told to pick a new doctor ir boss had to pick a new plan. countless others turned down jobs because they knew they took that job they would lose health insurance. if we let the system continue to

drift, our country will have people with less care, fewer choices, and higher bills. our approach protects the quality of care and peoples choices. to guarantee private insurance i might sayerican, employer-based private insurance for every american was proposed 20 years ago by president richard nixon. it was a good idea then and is a better idea today. 1994 and bill clinton's state of the union address. an update from politico -- 3 million people have signed up for the health insurance exchange since october 1. that is still behind the pasty

administration had hoped to set for the first enrollment. sign-ups grew by about 800,000 since the end of december. the white house is calling this a year of action. obama pursuing him on his agenda in his state of the union address. saying --r against by begins by saying --

on our twitter page there is this comment from bill king -- joining on the conversation -- join in on the conversation. (202) 585-3880 four democrats. (202) 585-3881 for republicans. if you are outside the united states, you can call (202)

585-3883. thank you for taking my call. i will not watch the state of the union address but i think it is very important. there is adequate coverage of the state of the union address. i will be able to get the important points both before and after the actual event. thank you for the call. front page of "the new york times," an extensive piece on senator rand paul, a look at his father, and his view of politics both in kentucky and a perspective 2016 candidate. tony perkins is our guest on newsmakers. program atch that 10:00 eastern time, 7:00 for those of you in the west coast. he is the president of the

family research council and also talked about the republican agenda in the year ahead. [video clip] >> personally i have talked through these issues. that back when he came forward -- he used a word that haven't been used in a long time. he said "i send." -- "i sinned." i know his wife wendy. he served for almost eight years. i believe he has dealt with those issues. i believe he is on the right track. i do think you'll always have that cloud over him and people will watch closely in view it. that,ou do something like you open yourself up to greater scrutiny and criticism. this is something you are going to have to live with.

host: that exchange last week. david bidder is running for governor. have a full interview airing at 10:00 eastern time here on c-span. this is from one of our viewers saying -- from the editorial page, bill kristol in "the weekly standard" memo --

brian is joining us from michigan. would you be watching by the state of the union that we be watching the state of the union on tuesday? caller: yes, i happen watching since 1970. i have not missed one. host: what are you looking for? host: --

host:next is richard from michigan. are you watching on tuesday night? caller: no, i am not going to watch it. the things he has to say aren't true. he doesn't do what he says he will. he talks about transparency. he puts everything as a secret. has eric holder out there prosecuting whistleblowers. they won't tell us the truth, somebody needs to tell us the truth. he campaigned on a lot of things that are not true. he is a far cry from having -- in my opinion he is a disaster.

i actually voted for him and i regret voting for him. scott wilson has a story below the fold in "the washington post." he begins his piece by saying -- that is from scott wilson in the washington post. joe is joining us from carolina.

caller: a comment about immigration and then i will speak about obamacare in regard to spin -- regard of the spin that he might put on it in the state of the union address. it occurred to me it occurred to me a while back when i called a , you areporation always told to dial one. two,roblem is if you dial the only language you get a spanish. be mad. greek, i would italian, german, french. that auto tell people something -- that ought to tell people something, we are overrun and have lost control. i will watch the state of the he puts one the spin obamacare. obamacare did not accomplish a thing.

the use affordable quality in the same -- affordable and quality in the same sentence. those plans have a very narrow universe of providers. he doesn't get to keep his same doctor and he would inherit a $6,000 right up front. doing a great job, love your show. host: on twitter -- on american history tv, more state of the union addresses 1974, 1964 with president lyndon johnson. theon the front page, shooting that took place in

columbia, maryland, leaving three dead. police say the gun man killed himself. it appears to have been some sort of domestic dispute. mall is closed. laura is joining us from illinois. of course i am going to watch the state of the union address. we usually like to watch it together because we usually have that space, what is going to be said. we used to have bets on what would be said it. the loser would have to make breakfast.

of course i will be watching it. we hope you will tuned in live or on our tape delay. the gravitational pull of a possible 2016 campaign is bringing all of the old clinton characters into orbit. can she make the stars align or -- prevail he echo we will -- prevail? we will continue our series on first ladies and we are up to hillary clinton. we will look at some of the issues she focused on, including health care and some of the redecoration's in the white house and her run for the senate, the only first lady lady to seek elected office.

we hope you tune in tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern time. mark is geordie goes from arkansas -- is joining us from arkansas. i won't probably watch. i will probably listen to it on the radio. nobody seems to be visionary. there is no real new thought coming into government. you have us and them. the people do not have a voice. resin thated is the is the representative to what the people really want and need? nobody has talked about this reason wes there a

are taxing individuals? should we be raising the personal exemption to a reasonable rate, like 100 grand? if you do not make 100 grand, you are poor. should be paying tax. they are not a legal entity. enslaving people? is there anybody that is going to take on something like this? host: thank you for the call from arkansas. this is from kevin -- she has written a few sit of the union addresses and other remarks. she has a piece in "the wall street journal. -- in "the wall street journal." she points out --

he has been a nonstop windup machine. the same self accusation and excuses. the network newsman leaned forward, intensely knotting. anchorman and surely something important is being said with to such important men engaged. nothing interested was being said. that is available online. of the unionte addresses, here's president ronald reagan in 1984. [video clip] must ring down the

deficits to ensure continued economic growth. on budget i will summits february 1, i will recommend measures that will reduce the deficit for the next five years. many of these will be unfinished business. quicklyld be an acted if we could join in a serious effort to address this problem. i spoke with the speaker of the house today, senate majority leader and senator minority leader. if they would designate congressional representatives to meet with representatives of the administration to try to reach prompt agreement on the bipartisan deficit reduction plan. i know it would take a long hard's trouble. if we have proposed is could first see if we could agree on a down payment. i believe there is basis for such an agreement. one that would reduce the deficit by ohio -- by $100

billion over the next three years. some of the last contentious spending cuts. these could be combined with measures to close certain tax loopholes, members that the treasury department is said to have been worthy of support. examine thewe can possibility of achieving savings based on the work of the grace commission. if the congressional leadership is willing, my members will be ready to meet with them at the earliest possible time. i would hope the leadership would agree on an expedited timetable in which to develop and an act that down payment. a down payment alone is not enough to break us out of the deficit problem. we must do more. i propose that we begin exploring how to get there. we can make structural reforms to curb the built-in growth of spending. comments of ronald reagan

during his state of the union address in 1984. you can watch many of these speak -- many of the speeches on c-span three. greg smith has written a few speeches. in "the washington post close quote -- -- "the washington post" --

from our twitter page -- derek is joining us on our line for independents. welcome to "the washington journal." i am not going to watch it and the main reason is i have done a study on what is a requirement to be eligible for presidency. number one is you must be natural born. when you look it up a lot of people think not both parents. when you look at the time. bang when it was written, woman were not considered citizens and not allowed to vote. one of them had to be a citizen. the father has never been and never claimed to be a citizen, therefore he is not eligible. that is one reason i will boycott it. he cannot be somebody who is eligible and not eligible for the president position. host: from maryland --

-- from twitter -- preview ofgov has a what to expect him to say evening. three words sum up the president's message on tuesday night, opportunity, action, and optimism. stephen dennis has the cover weekly."that "cq he points out that this sort of go to low talk is not new. the president hamstrung by a republican-controlled house has since repeatedly gone to the cycles of we can't wait for executive actions on jobs.

next is norman joining us this morning from new york city. good morning. matter -- i feel the capitalist system, it is an economic system but it is designed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. matter what hely will say in his speech. darnell is joining us from kansas. good morning. caller: good morning.

first i want to say something to derek. a women are citizens and they can vote now, in case you didn't know. i am going to be watching the president's state of the union address. i want to see what kind of spin the president is going to put on his need for fast tracking and transpacific partnership agreement. andill be worse than nafta is going to get multinational corporations unbridled power for every aspect of our lives. the job loss being the least of our worries. dividing and conquering us, america. we need to come together and we need to stand up and make this democratic republic work. that is all i have to say. karen has this point on

page -- ter america's political pep rally is the piece this morning syndicated across the nation.

a perspective of george will bid on our line for democrats is beverly from columbia, missouri. good morning. be watching the state of the union. american people need to wake up. this country is not going to change because corporations have taken over this country. afford to feed our thereen here in america, is something wrong. if we cannot afford to pay unemployment for people who are out of work, not being able to afford housing for their children or for themselves, i

have given up on america. i don't understand why we cannot feed our children. on our republican line, conrad is here. good morning. i am a five-year republican. i am a part of the gop party in the state of pennsylvania. going to getgop some balls and do what they are supposed to do? not going to get anything out of any of them because after election day they are wheeling and dealing. somebody sold their soul to the devil, you are going to get anything out. the state of pennsylvania says they want to reach out to minorities. we have one black woman in the

state with the gop. she is not an elected official. we work really hard for the party. the only time they want to come around is election day. after election day comes you will not hear anything. they cannot figure out this mess in the united states. that is my opinion. later we will focus on some of the key senate and house governor races. -- key senate and house and governor races. one of our viewers saying --

in case you missed it, from time magazine, some dramatic pictures inside syria and neighboring countries. two .3 million syrians have left their country. time magazine capturing life in these refuge camps. more from tony perkins, who is our guest on newsmakers on what he says needs to be the republican agenda in the year ahead. [video clip] >> we are not seeing a lot about this -- out of this congress. gridlock has its advantages. is on newsmakers at 10:00 eastern time. from minnesota, independent line. i will be watching and

seeing how they are again going in a totally wrong direction. i think this country needs to concentrate more on our economy. politicians have been putting everything aside. don't want to face the reality that if people do not work, do not produce, to not make money, the economy cannot keep going. both republicans and democrats need to get together and look at .he united states thank you. the republican bottle will probably consist of the repeal of the affordable care act and more on benghazi. the address will be delivered by cathy mcmorris rodgers. we sat down with her back in

september. she delivered her third child late last year and the interview is available on our website at c-span.org. if you want to hear about her early years and her life in congress and what she will likely talk about tuesday evening, including her own family. the vice president hitting the road on wednesday. this headline from the rochester chronicle. the college president saying their visit us shines a spotlight on the importance of community colleges. next is tom joining us from dayton ohio. i am going to watch because of this tpp stuff.

it's all about the corporations. been sold out is american people. it is just disgusting. it is terrible. outst we straighten this people are only going to be making $1.30. go bernie sanders and go elizabeth warren. >> thank you very much for the call. president touching on the scenes that he will outline in greater detail on tuesday night. [video clip] here's more with the president. keep strengthening our criminal justice system. we will keep reaching out to

survivors to make sure they are getting all the support they need to heal. we will combat sexual assault in our armed forces. when one of our military is attacked by people he or she trusts, that is something our nation should never and/or. it is really up to all of us. we have to teach young people, men and women, to be brave enough to stand up and put an end to these crimes. we especially have to teach young men to show women the respect they deserve. real men to not hurt women. who are fathers have a special obligation to make sure every young man out there understands that being a man recognizes that being a man is written -- the new man is recognizing sexual violence. needps most important, we to keep saying to anyone out

there who has ever been assaulted, you are not alone. we have your back. keep pushing for others to step up across my administration in congress, state capitals, college campuses, and military bases all across our country. me not a priority for only is president and commander-in-chief that isaac -- but as a husband and father. every man and woman, every girl and boy has a right to be safe. just a portion of the weekly address. it is also available on our website. some of your comments on our facebook page, you can join in on facebook.com/c-span.

next is kevin joining us from massachusetts, republican line, will you be watching on tuesday tuesday's state of the union? caller: no. i think he is better off on vacation and is leaving the government alone. we haven't grown jobs in massachusetts, we have grown welfare. cards come through the supermarket. instead of growing the job sector, one of his government programs -- what a shame america has become. this is from inside the washington post and online.

senator john mccain facing a censure. the headline -- there's this from john kyl. he says the arizona republican party is wacky. most people realize it does not represent the majority of the vast numbers of republicans. kelly is joining us from oregon. good morning. caller: i want to say president obama is the only president i have been able to listen to a

full state of the union speech and enjoy and be engaged. even president clinton, who i was and -- who i was totally enamored was, i had to change the channel. that we have a tall, graceful, highly intelligent president. i would also like to say that i am very sad it wasn't hillary clinton that got elected. i know people are going nuts now. african-americans have the right to vote 70 years before white women did. host: thank you for the call. headline, the focus on the issue of immigration as

the white house tries to strike a deal on that. from cq roll call, reporting that -- there will be a similar meeting with senate democratic staffers tomorrow. the meeting was led by obama's new legislative affairs director. and director of communications, jennifer palm area. 2000 four, president george w. bush delivered a state of the union address in which the patriot act was front and center. here's more from c-span's the deal library. -- c-span's video library. [video clip] with can go forward confidence and resolve or we can turn back to the dangerous resolution that terrorists are and outlaw regimes

are of no threat to us. we can press on with economic growth and reforms to education and medicare or we can turn back to old policies. not come all this way through tragedy and trial and falter and leave our work unfinished. americans arriving to the tasks of history, they expect the same efforts, their enterprise, and their character. people are showing that the state of our union is confident and strong. you can watch all of these past state of the union addresses this past week -- union addresses on c-span three.

from earlier this month, the president's first cabinet meeting of 2014. debra is joining us on the democrats line. good morning. while she turns on the tv limited sherry if you -- i watch c-span every morning. some of us do want to hear what the president is saying. i am a minority and i am sick and tired of hearing people saying -- and you hardly have women on their talking about theirposition that -- position -- we do want to hear what the president says. look every morning and peggy noonan meant is sitting

with morning show every morning, i can certainly listen to what the president has to say. thing that goes on all day long on all of these stations. we need to be together instead of against each other. times"rom "the new york -- this is from peter baker this morning, writing a preview on the president's speech. ilex -- our last call from california. the more and more i find out -- it just seems like we do not have anybody who's really president.

it sounds like we have corporate companies. we were never supposed to have people that have -- that fight for their own companies. i mean every american, black, white, puerto rican. we are not being represented. we have been very asleep. so much stuff that gets covered up that we do not get to hear. wingnut sound like a but it is because i am native american and our country is out right now. host: when we come back we would turn our attention to the 2014 politics. two experts, jennifer duffy and

nathan gonzales, will be here to break down the races to watch this year. on incomet winship inequality and income mobility. we are back in a moment. ♪ , i realize tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy. the politics will be hard for both sides. none of us will get 100% of what we want.

us alternative will cost jobs, hurt our economy, visit hardship on millions of hard-working americans. let's set party interests aside and work to pass a budget that replaces reckless cuts with smart savings and wise investments in our future. let's do it without the brinksmanship that scares investors. the greatest nation on earth cannot keep inducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next. we cannot do it. let's agree right here and right now to keep the people's government open and pay our and always uphold the full faith and credit of the united states of america. our preview program --

>> our preview program starts with the president at nine, followed by the response from cathy mcmorris rodgers and your reaction by phone, facebook, and twitter. state of the union, tuesday night. >> i do not see myself as having a message for my world but i do see myself as a person trying to understand my place and try to situate myself. giving to you when i was lectures at the u.s. air force academy in colorado springs. a broad-minded liberal young officer, who was looking after me, had lots of chats with me that i find interesting.

he said he was a liberal. some of the correct impressions i have gotten of the u.s. air force. he tells me he is a liberal. he was in favor of immigration. comehe said, when people to this country they should learn the nation's language. i said i agree, everyone should learn spanish. and andettlement evolution of the united states from a hispanic perspective. of booktv this weekend on c-span two and online at booktv's bookclub. join the conversation on booktv.org.

"washington journal" continues. to focus ont midterm election politics. joining us is jennifer duffy and nathan gonzales. good morning. talk about house races. how many are truly competitive and how does this compare to previous election cycles? we have 52 house races out of 145 on our list. it roughly falls for the target is for midday election cycles. compare to past wave cycles, previous to election day there were almost 100 seats on our competitive list. now we're down to 50. part of the explanation is we

have a round of redistricting under our belts where there was somes -- and there was uncertainty. depending on what the national political environment is, we could see that number grow. this could roughly be the field we have for the next 11 months. how many truly tossup races and how many are we onlyive now? guest: have three races, two democrat. -- two democrat and tossup. there are three seats that are leaning in republican's direction. however this is going to change. one of the reasons there aren't more seats as we are really waiting to see the outcome of some of these primaries. this is particularly true in places like north carolina.

republicans have the advantage of only having 16 seats up. those 15 seats, 13 of them are in very red states. don't have that much opportunity to expand the field. kentucky, there have been talks of trying to get a good candidate in mississippi. republicans have a very different picture. they are fighting on pretty friendly ground. there are a lot of formidable seats in red states. they also have more potential to grow, especially if the political landscape favors them. they might have enough to make the case and some other races.

that short list is going to get a lot longer. host: oath guests understand the geopolitical print -- understand the geography of states. you can send us an e-mail or send us a tweet at c-span wj. let's look at what it would take for the democrats to take control of the house of representatives. republicans have 234 seats. and net gain of 17 would flip the house from republican to democrat. when we look at the 52 seats on our competitive lists, it is not a matter of only winning 17 out of 52 seats. democrats are defending half of those 52 seats. they not only have to win the seats they are defending but then also gained 17 more.

there have been some pretty critical republican thatessional districts kept open. these are seats democrats have been salivating over four years. democrats have some of their own open seats. out any potential gains democrats may win by getting those democrat -- by getting those seats. take almost a small miracle at this point. it is not the type of election or type of environment the credits need to win those seats. in terms of the u.s. senate, the democrats have 55 seats.

45 for the republicans. republicans need six seats, that assumes they do not lose any of their own. important they hold on in kentucky and georgia. if they can't the road just gets a lot steeper. we talked about the three seats already leaning in republicans direction. would have to win three of the remaining seats we consider vulnerable. louisiana, arkansas, michigan, iowa, north carolina. that requires being incumbent. i am not at a place where i am willing to say the senate has a

50-50 proposition. a poll that shows little faith and no news here. pretty evenly split when it comes to the house of representatives's 45. president's own job approval rating is in the low 40's. guest: a tie is a most a win for republicans. that number needs to creep up democrats in order to have a distinct chance of taking back the house. i want to begin by that begin with an ad that was released last week. -- by an ad that was released

last week. [video clip] of a voice have much but i have been helped by somebody with a new big as somebody with a big voice. -- somebody with a big voice. i was exposed to radiation. .ike many others i got a cancer mitch mcconnell stepped in and helped create cancer screening programs and provide compensation for sick workers. us andked down walls for helped save people's lives. gives a voice to kentucky's working family. i would like to raise my voice. we are represented by a man who has worked hard for us and always will. >> i am mitch mcconnell and i approved this message.

host: is this effective? different.s it is not the full be role. -role.l b he pushes back against the democratic argument that he has done nothing for the state. i thought it was interesting that one of the first press releases attacking this ad was from the same conservatives who accused him of running your marks, which i thought was a little far field of a point. it shows you that he gets squeezed by the right. overall it is a fairly effective at. guest: this is january of the election year. this is an early ad but it shows how much money is going to be spent.

it was a one minute at in january. it shows you we are on pace for an election that is going to be millions of dollars. not onlya primary challenge, wt -- matt? >> he is not a kentucky native, something we are going to hear a lot more about. he believes that mcconnell is part of the problem here. he is not a conservative. i think the mcconnell com ampaign has done very well in not giving him too much room to maneuver. rand paul until it's too late, and i think the lesson that the mechanical --

mcconnell fulks learned was that we were not going to do that again. there's very little room to maneuver, nothing that goes unanswered. they follow him around, they have caught every mistake he has made. he is not going to get a free road to do much. that is going to make it hard, mcconnell has about a 20 point lead now. does he question is, have the personal resources, and how much of that is he willing to put into this race? host: a radio ad from friday. >> mitch mcconnell is telling his pals of washington dc that this senate race is the battle for the heart and soul of the republican party. what is really at stake is so much more than that.

this is a battle for the hea rt and soul of the entire clinical process. will we continue to have a by, and forf, the people, or of, by, and for a handful of politicians? this is about the future of kentucky, and the future of the united states of america. i am matt bevin, and i approved this message because after 30 years, conduct he deserves another -- kentucky deserves better. host: the primary challenge with thetor mitch mcconnell, mcconnell campaign said that they were into law prevent -- in too long. for the heart

and soul of the republican party, because it is almost verbatim to a column that we wrote about how important this race is. if these antiestablishment conservatives are able to knock off mitch mcconnell, it is going a shockwaved through the republican party, give some of these other races that are later in the calendar some momentum. theymay not be the race, may get a couple of victories this cycle, it is maybe a little bit later on in the calendar. -- kentuckypublican primary is coming up in the calendar. louisiana is a pure tossup at the moment, what is happening at that -- in that state? yup to remember that it

has become increasingly more republican, which makes the child a little bit harder -- the challenge a little bit harder. the congressman who is fairly conservative, although the tea party would like a more conservative candidate. guyt of them are actually a ired airng a roet force officer. of jungleaving a sort primary on election day, it is no can enhance 50%, we will have a runoff on december 6. we will have until them to figure out who controls the senate. the numbers are not good, largely because of her vote on health care. any support that she is given to president obama is not well received.

flipside, she is going to be chairman of the energy committee, it is a big deal in louisiana. she's getting a lot of business support as a result. her campaign will be very well-funded. there is a reason she has started to challenge the president on something, most notably health care. she would voteid for it again if she had the chance, and this is going to be a very interesting race, and a late in the game player. host: we will get to your calls and comments in the northeast -- comments. it is back andt the new hampshire district. -- forth in the new hampshire district. guest: those are all pretty

key races when it comes to the house. two primary opponents, one of which is compiling a list of credible as an putting together a real campaign. he has to deal with that. republican who narrowly lost last time, you're going to -- the democrats are going to try to tighten to the him to the teae party. a retired air force pilot who rumsfeld the last time she was here. slow to get her campaign up and running, and those are two key races. host: these are early numbers, because these are campaigns that

will exceed over $1 billion this year. cs,terms of the super pa $20.5 million so far. these campaigns have not even gotten underway. guest: there are a handful that have been on the air, but a lot have not. majority onn this the democratic side go to try to help some of these incumbents. they also did something that wenty surprised me -- they into new hampshire to run an who ison scott brown, not even in the race yet. host: you do not think he will run? guest: i think it is a jump ball. we will see. is this all about 2016?

guest: it is possible. maybe he wants to be governor, which you can also run for judy six and -- run for a 2016. at any rate, i think the thing to watch this year is the rise cs.single issue super pa there is one in kentucky, when liz cheney was running. they have started to spend some real money. e smallering to se numbers in terms of american crossroads with the mississippi super pacs, they're going to be very important in these races, and what they go to do. host: the ones listed in gray

are true tossups right now. the ones that are light blue are leaning republican. solidin light blue -- read, i should say, are likely or leaning republican. how many senate races are up in 2014? guest: 56 now. montana. and possibly theoing to be whether democrats ought candidate is going to be the appointed senate or, but that races on the ballot anyway. host: our phone lines are open. join us on twitter, or facebook.

democrat line, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: how are you doing? i wanted to know as far as 2016, i want to know if republicans do not extend unemployment, would that hurt them in the boat -- votes? host: thank you for that call. what about 2014 in the midterm elections? guest: it will be one part of the puzzle, where democrats will be trying to portray republicans as not want you to do simple things to help government work. it will be a small part of it, but i do not think we will see a lot of ads that are singly focused on unemployment. it'll be a wider case that the democrats are trying to make. host: a modest agenda in the state of the union address on

tuesday. his audience will be a number of , not only the democratic party, but midterm election borders -- voters. moreyear involved executive orders the legislative action. though much of this is the blueprint for democrats this year? all of theill be blueprint for democrats this year. we are already seeing them work have seensues we before, the war on women, rights, white -- contraception, and unemployment. all of those things will come back, but i do not know if it is in his address to put out a very aggressive agenda given a congress that does not get anything done. host: welcome to the program. caller: thank you.

obamacare is going to be affecting a lot more political races than people think, in favor of the democrats. tens of millions of people are going to be receiving new health care, especially in kentucky. i think that is the top state of enrolling people, and would all those people go to vote, they will be clicking on democrat, not republican. i would hate to see the runblicans continue to commercials about obamacare, it is shooting themselves in the foot, they need to move to a different topic. guest: i think he brings up a point, we have to wait and see. part of obamacare is going to be a gigantic issue in the 2014 elections. as he gets rolled out, and is affecting people's lives, how it plays out.

do people like their coverage, do they not like it? do they like the premiums they are paying or do they not like it? if there were supposed to sign up, and they're starting to get by let, how does that affect it -- analyzed, how does that affect it? there's the potential for to happen the other way as well. feels one way,y i think the strategists right now feel like this is a solid president has gone too far, and can help the 2014 election. host: anyone of you following the race on florida governor rick scott seeking reelection? guest: exactly. i think this is going to be one of the best races, and one of the most expensive of the cycle.

are scott's numbers terrible. 30's.b approval is in the but charlie crist is not a candidate. -- perfect candidate. infamousd a rather senate race that did not go well in 2000 and -- 2010. i think this is going to be a big race. i do not even have a favorite candidate in terms of who i think is ahead. either candidate should not be underestimated. host: democrat line, good morning. jonathan, are you with us? caller: yes.

good morning. , we haves to the race portrayingn one ad a solid supporter of the obamacare act. it is more of a 50-50 in , as itity in the state is throughout the nation. there per trigger with the health care act -- portraying her with the health care act, i know rumor has it -- some of the democratic strategist, and they are not -- even though they have

or trade her as -- portrayed her as a liar. thank you. host: thank you. guest: the senate race was talked about a little bit. i think that the caller is i salute you write about -- is absolutely right about new hampshire being a swing state. their congressional district has flipped a couple of times. this is probably the product of being such a large legislature. i think that if it around does es get an, brown do she has a race on her hands. jump on that house and ride, he has had it for some time.

they are not unfamiliar with him, the boston media market does go into new hampshire. he spent a lot of time advertising audited 2012 is biggest problem is -- on it into 2012.t his biggest problem will be the advertising and ratings. even though they are how manyng states -- senators have moved to another state and been elected in a different state? guest: that is a good question, and i know it has happened. answertion is -- my would be that it is only once or twice going back 200 years. that is a good question for chuck. host: out of their retirement in

the u.s. senate, there are only five democrats and republicans. any of these names surprising? baucus, tom coburn, saxby chambliss, tom harkin, mike levins, tim johnson, carl , jay rockefeller. nathan gonzales? guest: there are different reasons for the retirements. -- arer longevity senatety, he got to the

and was saying this was not something that was as glamorous as of might see on tv -- as it might seem on tv. we're talking about the majority being in peril, echo were not for -- if it were not for some of those democratic retirements. because of these democratic retirements by the it increases the pool of opportunities for republicans, and really helps the math. gives them some leeway when it comes to gaining those succeeds. -- six seats. host: kathy is joining us from michigan. caller: thank you. good morning. to the candidate for the first congressional seat here in michigan.

against mr. better mr. bennetshek. there's almost no and manufacturing anymore -- no manufacturing anymore, the vast majority of people do not have obamacare, and the best majority of the children on my child. they are not connecting with the constituents in this area. i substitute teach, so i'm around children all the time. when i hear from them is that they do not understand their life situation. cannon,portant for mr. and the democratic party, because i think this is a

winnable seat, to make very clear what they want to do for the people here. host: thank you. guest: this is one of the most competitive districts in the country, one of the most older opel republican incumbents in vulnerabley -- republican incumbents in the country. an outsider, and in a time where the congressional job approval ratings are so low, this is a time for the democrats to set up that contrast. we will have to see how democrats are able to make that connection with voters. one of the parts of the giving is making your case, and haven't majority on your side. he has the opportunity, his opponent has not run the strongest of conveyance -- campaigns.

host: independent line, good morning. far,r: i grew up not too across the state, and when romney was governor, there were jobs there. if over the years, they fell away into nothing. you could not even by a job in buy a job in michigan. believe elections, i the aca has democrats across the whole thing,. . i've been all over the world, all of the country, and some people seem to stand up for the wrong things. american self-sufficiency is more important than democratic votes, i'm sorry. the president is letting everybody down. is that of all of

is stuff to fail, obama blamed, and has blamed all of the for these failures. why is unemployment down down in the millions? who steps in the millions? -- food stamps in the millions? host: extension of unemployment benefits is still in the house of representatives, it is not moved anywhere. how big of an issue will this be in some of these key races? guest: it is going to be an issue, angry with nathan that it will be part of a bigger puzzle -- i agree with nathan that it will be part of a bigger puzzle. they need to motivate their own base. in midterm elections, with the party in power, in its very

to motivate. they need to put something together to motivate their voters, and this is minorities, younger voters. been aennifer duffy has consultant on nbc news on election night, her work is available online at the a kpolitical -- coo .com. based we offer state local news from both sides of the ideological sector. you can see some of the best from thend blogging left, right, and nonpartisan mainstream media side-by-side. you can get news from different

perspective go and get an knowing wherenot they are coming from, giving past that first stage. host: a graduate of vanguard and georgetown university. super bowl sunday? a lot of twitter conversations. guest: i have to go for the seattle seahawks. they are one of the teams who has lived up to the hype, and hopefully they can do it again sunday. since the broncos beat the patriots, and depth about of the super bowl, and to be a seahawks fan to -- i have to be fan too.s check out all of that

online. caller: good morning. i have watched the political maneuverings for a wild. -- hwhile. in 2010, the tea party sent a lot of people to the house of representatives, because they promised the market people they were going to create jobs. they went there, and they did not create jobs. there are people out there who enough pointsget to qualify for social security. jobs whennnot find they're going to follow the medicaid will cover because you cannot have social security unless you have a certain amount of points. unless have a medicare you qualify for sources security -- social security. it is not an entitlement program but because we pay into it.

the red states, where you feel that the house of representatives is going to keep getting elected, when people goinge that they are all to fall into the medicaid pool because they are not getting jobs, they're going to turn. the colors going to start changing. thatcans have to realize you cannot live in a system where people say no. there needs to be jobs created, and when they are created, people are going to play taxes. -- pay taxes. the end of the that rate will go down. when you shift jobs overseas, it is not just jobs, it is every thing that creates those jobs. host: it would like to take that? would like to take that? guest: i do not think the tea party was created with

the promise of jobs. --nk they were created with in reaction to obamacare, and then they morphed into a purity of the republican party, to make sure that the republicans were constitutional conservatives, and had that pure corp.. e. i do not know that that was the promise. the fight over the jobs and the unemployment rate is one of the fundamental fights of the election. isn't the president possible, is the republican's -- is it the president's fault about the republican's fault? host: able to get it it democratic -- a multicandidate democratic are very -- primary. hostguest: he came in with an

interesting agenda. he has not made too much progress in that front, and in some cases he has been stymied by republicans in the legislature. he was to privatize things like lottery, liquor stores, and he is not really been able to get his agenda moving. the economy in pennsylvania has not improved all that much. ally, he getsn stuck with some of the fallout from kentucky. he was attorney general and some of these allegations were first brought forward them and whether his office did enough, or they swept it under the rug. moved governors out of their own party this early in the cycle tour the other party,

we do not do that for any would have to say that would be in the democrat's favor. you have a very crowded primary, you have eight announced candidates. most of them come from philadelphia. dividedte that is east-west, you have candidates fighting in their own base. i have yet to see any one of them really make strides. whoever wins this nomination, they're going to win it by something less than a majority, and they're going to have a lot of work to do getting around the state once they do have that nomination. guest: we are not as giving as the rothenberg political report. one other state, the fourth term for the governor of

california. he delivered his 17 minutes state of the state address in sacramento. think california is so tough for republicans. brown has not given them a lot to work with in terms of running against him. the state still has a lot of the problems they had when he came to office four years ago. that has not changed. i think the price of admission to the california gubernatorial race is enormous. at least $50 million, and i'm probably being conservative in that regard. i am not giving republicans a lot of room here, or a lot of optimism. in -- one of the states things in his state of the state

address, he said he used to talk about throwing the bones out, and i'd ask about how experience matters. he delivered it with a smile, and realize that his own political career had changed him and understand there's a big difference from where he started. on debts and deficits -- would anyone be affected? guest: who is to blame? that is what it comes down to. it is not just about the debt and the deficit, it has to do more with the affordable care act, the president's standing. it fits into that, people that feel like the country is in the right direction will give them a thatn benefit of the doubt -- will give democrats a benefit of the doubt.

it starts to become a better argument for republicans when they ask what will he do in the last two years? james --s is from there are already some ads in north carolina taking aim at the senators for supporting the health care act. since it on the past by one vote, everybody was the deciding vote. there was a caller earlier who talked about health care be a problem for republicans. i do not know by agree with this now because what is going to happen down the road this year, there are a number of other milestones that are going to be hit, and they're going to be some people that are unhappy. i think the 6 million or so

people who have signed up under obamacare are happy, but i think what is going to start happening is that when small businesses -- when their plans, this year -- come up this year, those plans will be disqualified. larger employers were grandfa thered him till 2015. renew their plans, insurance at some point is going to have to point out their plans to the exchanges. this is the november 15 deadline, and those costs are going to be associated with how have they taken on in the first year? there are going to be a lot more

arguments about this. if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, because a lot of the plans are restricting the vision choice -- physician choice. we have already seen some stories about people who have signed up but who have no proof of insurance. the doctor says there's no record of ever signing up. there is a lot more kinks to work out, and there will be some ripples that will happen throughout the year. i do not think that health care is going to be a problem for republicans as much as it is still going to be an asset, because i think there's probably voters who are angry to everyone that is happy.

we want to welcome you to bring your questions for jennifer duffy and nathan gonzales. guest: most republicans are saying repeal, and democrats are saying we know you do not like it, but you do not want to get rid of all of it. the challenge is that in the seats, where it is going in a slightly more red than the country at large. disapproval that approval in those key districts and keys eights, and it is a higher threshold. i think we are going to see an election that is driven by a lot of anecdotes. both sides are going to have specific people to camera, saying because of what president obama and what the democrats did with the aca, i could not get

the covered i wanted. or because of what republicans did, because they wanted to reveal it, this is how my life was affected. follow-up on an earlier tweet -- milton, philadelphia, democrat line. ask thei would like to guests, to they think the republicans will be able to take the senate? i think the potential is there, i do not think it is a jump ball today. i went to see the outcome of some of these printers. -- i want to see the outcome of some of these primaries. 'sest: what is the president

standing next november? we do not know. was on the economy verge of a great depression. 0e were losing between 500,00 month, butbs per while big government is not -- it environment is not great, i wish they would give him some credit. he is still gaining jobs, and nobody giving him credit for it. as far as the affordable care act about people have short memories. if you had a pre-existing condition, you cannot get health insurance we cannot say on your parents that you could not stay with your parents until 26. healths a reason why care made a lot of people bankrupt. guest: i think that the caller

is right without the president successfully ran on that -- right, the president successfully ran on look at what right. a lot of people were still blaming president bush, but as he gets further and further in the rearview mirror, and it gets harder to say look at where we were and where we are now. werethe republicans calling the scandals earlier in the year with the irs or other those diden y not evolve into full-blown scandals, it started to hit his credibility. it lessens the impact of what the president could have, because people are more skeptical. caller from illinois. is that theproblem

jobs are very scarce, and the taxes are stream the hype -- extremely high. ie politicians around here, was on the news about our parks. six or seven years ago, we had a $6 billion debt. we are now over $100 billion and debt, i just do not see it. we have the highest taxes and all of the united states. host: governor quinn is seeking reelection. he is nothink that question the most endangered

democratic governor. he has some of the lowest approval ratings in the country. there was a question about whether he would even run, but he is running. illinoisounting on being a blue enough state to which above the line. -- quinn has even able managed to alienate some of his allies. this is over much-needed pension reform, something that needed to and it took forever, to where he threatened to hold the state legislature's pay until they got it done. he is very wealthy, he is a --iness guy, he is running has been on the air introducing himself to those who do not know him. helpful, he counts

the chicago mayor as one of his good friends. who gets credit, and who gets blamed, that whole debate will layout and the governor races -- will play out in the governor races. were elected in 2010, they in heritage pretty dismal -- they inherited ready dismal conditions. host: a memo to house republicans on the issue of the debt limit and the affordable care act. tom curry of nbc news have the tweet.-- has this

guest: we're are going to see some of the most effect of -- e ads about obamacare at the affordable care act, with real people. the ad makers are going to look for those stories like mitch mcconnell. that makes for better ads, then just saying that so-and-so voted for it. talk about the real impact on people's lives. host: republican line, good morning. caller: good morning. they are swimming upstream because of the mainstream media. exampleive you a good -- this chris christie thing.

-- would think he that think that he planted roadside bombs if you read the newspaper. compared to hillary clinton who brought -- failed to provide security to our messenger in benghazi, it was on page seven of the new york times. if i were republican running for , i would compare the states run by democrats and republicans. i would look at the unemployment figures, and the abstract property, and all of that. you'll find that this date one by democrats -- in these states that are run by democrats, the unemployment is much higher and poverty is much worse. host: let's talk about the economy because we have seen enough taken the market -- we

have seen an uptick in the market, except for last week. guest: the economy is a big factor, especially for voters who are more casual voters and will vote their gut on election day. a state like ohio, where the governor is running on the economy, and believing that he has helped them turn the corner. it is tricky for democrats obamae they had president going around saying that it is going better. the other thing that i would say is that if the economy does start to get better promote and we started to run record that is good for president obama.

if people feel more secure about where they are, they are less likely to be agitated, dissatisfied, and likely to throughout their officeholder -- to throw out to their officeholder. most: this will play out in the governor races, probably not so much in the ascendant -- in the senate and house races. clean recordseaky on the economy these days. joining us from sperry bill, virginia. the offices where they have just swept and the -- just swept for the first time in eight years, how do you interpret this? 10th is where the checked, the republican seat has

suddenly become an open seat -- 10th district, the republican seat has suddenly become an open seat? guest: this was a big surprise to both hearties -- parties. he is running for reelection to a second term, he is a former governor, and former chairman of who hasonal committee been deeply involved in virginia politics for a long time, ving under -- serving under president bush. inle democrats did very well november, to call this a blue state would be a mistake. this is much more of a purple state. i think that if gillespie is well-funded, it could give warner a decent race. i think we have to know what the

landscape looks like. i think he has a fighting chance. this is a race that would not if it moves. host: why is he running? guest: you cannot win if you do not run. depending on how the election cycle costa rica upperdeck what the fall is going to look like runs, you cannot predict what the fall is going to look like. arguably, you have to start earlier, but gillespie should be able to put together the money. guest: even if he does not win this race, respectable showing gets him first in line if you would like to run for governor 7. 201 whether he can bring a little

bit of report -- reform to the party, why did republicans lose candidates 2013, the they nominated. too were considered much conservative, and they nominated them through convention, the poster primary -- opposed to a primary. guest: the caller was talking about the house races as well, and the 10th district where he is set to retire is an opportunity for democrats that was not on the list. republicans did help themselves by not going through a nomination by convention, and it looks like arbor comstock will be the nominee. barbra comstock will

be the nominee. because the election cycle is uncertain, we-- have the lean, . democrats would love to get that see, it is a swing area of the state -- that seat, it is a swing area of the state. virginia, jim moran announcing his retirement, was that a surprise? guest: we were focused on races that have an opportunity for one side of the -- or the other to to see. i'm waiting we will let people test the waters, decide whether or not they will get in, and take a deep dive.

host: any races to watch that we missed? guest: we did not talk about arkansas area i think that is the most republican -- vulnerable republican of the cycle. that state has become much more republican than the last time ago.had a race, 12 years caught and has a terrific resume, relatively new to politics. he has only been in the house one term. talk toit is funny, you a lot of democrats who are very concerned about pryor. one of the things that is going for him is that arkansas did its own exchange. the outgoing governor is very r, asar, and may help pryo

well as the clintons. this is a tough race. elected threetor different times for three different states. he represented minnesota, missouri, and illinois. the only person to serve three different. jennifer duffy, and neither does all he -- nathan gonzalez, thank you for joining us and sharing pertise. coming up in just a moment, and, -- income and inequality. later, we will look at security

concerns as the winter games get underway in sochi, russia. we are back in a moment. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] americansnately, many no longer have hope. some because of their property, -- poverty, and some because of their color. help replaceo their despair with opportunity. today,s administration here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in america. >> looking back on five decades

of notable state of the union addresses, from lbj to george part at 3:00 p.m. eastern, of american history tv this weekend on c-span three. that is leading up to president barack obama's 2014 state of the union address, like to stay on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. on tuesday on c-span. protests.ide >> about 20 minutes after landing, driving toward the square, the military has come down to the street, so i've stopped at one of the check film., and then find my us. said, thus -- come with

and taken bylace, people in plainclothes. you do not know who is interrogating you. it was this dvd that was in the car, and i need to get rid of it. i excused myself to the bathroom, and tried to write apart, and i do not know if you never tried to break apart a dvd, but it is quite hard. wentved it down the drain, back into the interrogation feeling confident that i had gotten rid of evidence that could possibly keep me there for a lot longer than i wanted to be, and about five minutes later the guy cleaning the bathroom comes in with a piece of the dvd in his hand. >> more with the director of the academy award

square."y "the c-span, we bring you public events, gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house, watches in hd, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> washington journal, continues. host: we want to welcome back scott winship. tuesday, the president will be focusing on unemployment, and poverty in america. on poverty,piece

saying we won the war. guest: i think the incentives thinkonservatives -- it,ervatives do not believe saying that this is an a compliment that we can take some credit for it, and that a lot of the decline in property happened in the 1990's, and were around welfare reforms, and economic growth. the liberal ideas of the 1950's, take the credit. nearlynn reporting that 2.5 million american children have at least one parent property. poverty.

guest: we're trying to recover from the recession that we had. there is too much long-term unemployment, and i think it is poured in a downturn that we have a robust safety net -- important in a downturn that we have a robust safety net. afloat inhe people lean times, but can then turn around and the taken advantage of during the strong times. that points the way forward. host: what about long-term unemployment issues, something congress has yet to deal with? guest: that is going to be one of the more contentious issues in the next month. they're debating whether to by threeat five --

months, which overstates the cause of the government. i do not begin is worth becoming a showdown issue for republicans , but in some ways it is stran ge for that to be such a prominent debate. host: let me go back to something that you wrote this if the economy were stronger, there is a reasonable thought that it would not be so strong -- inequality would not be so strong. essentially what you have, if you look back at the last 50 or 60 years in the u.s. is that in the 1950's and 1960's we had amazing economic growth due to high productivity. the rate at which workers could produce translated into gains

for everybody, and lower prices. it was very strong, and a time that we not seen prior to that, and we have not seen that sense. -- since. we had this broadly shared growth in the 1990's, at both the middle and the bottom, having an increase. shares were skyrocketing at the time, and nobody cared about it because everyone else was doing well. the middleis that it and bottom have not been doing well since the recession. host: in 2014, the state of the economy is what? guest: fragile but improving. we have unemployment that is

seven percent, maybe even lower than seven percent. it is headed in the right direction. thinknly by 2016, i unemployment will be around six percent or less. as we see the unemployment rate go down and long-term unemployment go down, i think this issue of inequality will receipt as a political issue. host: let me get your reaction to the sunday morning editorial in the "washington post." two points. they write there is not much the government can do about the sweeping forces of technology and globalization. recommendation such as limiting free trade. rateseally focuses on tax in this country. let me share the last paragraph or two.

forpreferential rate capital gains, exclusion for employer paid health insurance and deduction for state and local taxes cost $900 billion per year. guest: it makes a lot of good points. the first thing to understand is that taxes in the u.s. are more progressive than people realize, more progressive than in most of europe grade is on the spending side that we look very different from europe. pays asnt that the top opposed to the bottom has not eroded since reagan took office. our tax code tends to be upside down in the way it promotes upward mobility. a lot of these tax breaks flow to people who have resources who do not necessarily need the help

and it subsidizes a lot of purchases people would've made anyway. tax reform is an area where we could move the needle on increasing upward mobility. host: where is the pie chart on wages that have stopped rising since reaganomics? guest: i disagree. if you look at the congressional , they put out an annual report on income growth and they show that since 1979 and comes at the bottom have , depending least 28% on how high you cap the value of health insurance. there's a lot of misunderstanding about income growth. that is much lower growth rates that we found in the 1950's in 1960's. income equality as

extreme as it is, it is safe to say we are presently in all our gay -- an oligarchy. guest: i would agree with the rider that are liberals of inequality are shockingly high -- levels of inequality are shockingly high. % take some more than the rest of the top. -- takes home more than the rest of the top. whetherave looked at rising inequality slows economic growth or leads to financial crises or hurts upward mobility, the evidence is not there. host: let me share with you with the president said at the center .or american progress he outlined some of the themes that will likely come up tuesday night in his state of the union address. [video clip]

>> the problem is that alongside increased inequality we have seen diminished levels of upward mobility in recent years. hasild born in the top 20% about a two in three chance at staying at or near the top. bottom 20%n into the has a less than one in 20 shot of making it to the top. he is 10 times likelier to stay where he is. that not onlyw are liberals of income inequality rank dear countries levels of income inequality rank near countries like jamaica. canada, germany, and france have

greater mobility than we do. host: your reaction. guest: there's a lot of points he makes in there, some of which are true and accurate and some of which are misunderstood. quite a fewen and places that we haven't upward mobility problem in the u.s. an upwardent -- have mobility problem in the u.s. the presiddent's statistics are right. just last week there was a , aort by a harvard economist long line of research that suggests there have been small changes over time. we don't need to make this argument that mobility is on the decline, that inequality has caused a decline in mobility in order to worry that are mobility levels simply are not strong enough. host: ralph is joining us on new

line.emocratic w.ller: i'm a proud u.a. worker. when we talk about income inequality, it's a balance of power. when you look at the private sector, there is 6.6% of union workers in the private sector who are members of unions. union workers are the countervailing force to unchecked capitalism. i would like to hear your comments. guest: thanks for the question. i agree, the decline in unionization has affected inequality. a lot of people don't realize it's a long-term decline that started in 1954 and things have been going south since then. it's important to note that the

period where unionization was very high was a different period in the u.s. we have an idea of a male breadwinner, a single worker should be able to support their family by themselves. was a pretty good deal compared to today for people who don't have a college degree, for men who don't have a college degree. it was not a very good deal for women, who were confined to the home and not expected to work. what we have seen over time is were women realized it was not such a great deal for them. if you have two workers in the family, it does not make sense to pay a family wage to each of them grade we have had this -- them. ofhave had this period transition which has not been good for guys who don't have a

college degree, but has been good for women. few of us would want to go back to those days. host: george munro following up on our earlier conversation from the "washington post." he says, the tax code favors the rich. rich. it does favor the i will cite the congressional budget office, which is not a republican or conservative group. 1979, all federal taxes combined paid by the top one percent has not declined over time. if the tax code favors the wealthy somehow and compared to european countries it does not look like that is the case, it is no worse today than it ever was. host: david is joining us on the independent line. good morning.

caller: good morning. the best television show on television. it's good to talk to you. ahead.o steve, it's good to talk to you, and mr. winship. i'm a world war ii veteran who has voted in every federal, state and municipal election since harry truman. i'm listening to what is going on in our country and i'm listening to mr. winship. my generation, which was labeled the greatest generation, we created the greatest middle class in the history of the world. , the middley today

class is slowly but surely disappearing. host: what has happened over the last 30 to 40 years? are a country that is not divided, we are polarized. that's the biggest problem of all. other't look at each can we as thinking, what do that's best for our great country? electedpens now is representatives have their priorities. do everything possible to get reelected, do everything possible for the party and , do somethingsts if possible for the constituents. my of the things during

generation, we had what was called compassionate capitalism. .verybody worked together the corporations, financial institutions, everybody worked together for the betterment of our great country. unfortunately today, we have greedy capitalism. they are looking out for themselves. havewe the american people to do is vote on every incumbent on november of 2014. host: how old are you? the last told you time, i was going to be 90 next wednesday. i will be 90 years young. .ost: thank you for the call happy birthday to you and thank you for your service.

ask yourself this question, is america a meritocracy, regardless of the status of your birth you are free to go as far as your inherent talents will take you? it is been posted online at cnn.com. wass saying what the caller saying, that is changed over the last three or four decades. in terms of whether we're less than a meritocracy than we used to be, i don't think the evidence supports that. it remains the case that we can do better and we should try to do better. charitable trust economic mobility project where i used to work, and the numbers that president obama cited in the clip earlier, they show if you start in the bottom fifth

you have a 30% chance of making it into the middle class as an adult yourself. we can do better than that. is not the case that it has worsened over time, which is remarkable. there have been a lot of societal changes. host: our guest is scott winship , a fellow at the met -- manhattan institute, graduate of northwestern university and harvard, previously with third way and the brookings institution in washington. vivian says, why are people who are making at or near minimum wage working 40 hours a week also need government assistance to survive? let's go to a read on the democrats -- loretta on the democrats' line. caller: this is a great conversation. i have two points i want to make.

the first is the tax cuts, loopholes, carried interest, these areanking -- all designed by republicans for the one percent and corporations. i would like to know when was the last time they paid taxes in full like the rest of us. you have to qualify to get tax cuts, loopholes, carried interests, and offshore banking. i think there are a lot of ways the tax code could be fairer. racz -- it's more progressive than people realize. it is the case there are special interests on both sides, who have carved out these breaks that are not fair to people who don't get them and make for an inefficient tax code.

congress has been talking about tax reform. there's a real opportunity to reform the tax code in ways that will promote upward mobility better. host: one of our viewers has this tweed. -- tweet. that wene of the ways have reduced poverty says that 1990's is through refundable tax credits such as the earned income tax credit, which have the virtues of promoting work and tried to move more people from a life where they are missing out on economic growth during good times to a point where they can benefit like everyone else when the economy does grow.

a revolutionary an important change in policy. i do think republicans are misguided to the extent that they say, we have the 47% here who don't pay taxes. they do pay payroll taxes, and in general the reason they don't is a lot of income tax because we have now got this work based welfare policy that has been a real improvement. host: a, to -- a comment -- join in on the conversation. joel is joining us from north carolina. good morning. caller: there was a recent 85dline that said that people have more wealth than 3

billion people. i would like to know how much money each of those three and a half billion people would get if all that wealth was confiscated and divided up among them. guest: it's a good question. the study you are citing has been getting a lot of attention and he goes to show that there , it is farnequality more massive than inequality of the u.s. the numbers you are talking about show that a middle-class the 95this actually in percentile of the world income distribution. if you're in the middle class in the u.s. you are better off than 95% of the people in the world. if you're in the bottom fifth in the u.s. you are better off than the vast majority of people in the world. that things are so fantastic, especially for the poor, that we ought to not worry about it all.

it does put into perspective whether our national inequality is as great as we think. host: one of our viewers saying -- at what point do you pay no income tax? guest: figures show that depending on how the economy is dong, 40% to 45% of people not pay federal income tax because they get a refund. it's not money they have paid in and they are getting back as a refund like a lot of us do. it's above and beyond what they paid him to begin with their getting back. matterill increasing the -- middle wage lower inequality? guest: it depends on what the impact of raising the minimum wage is.

it might not reduce unemployment all that much. if you increase it by 40%, which is what the democratic proposal on the table is, in a recovery that is fragile. that you're going to end up increasing unemployment, that you will make it that much businesses to hire the workers they would like to. that will not reduce income inequality. we have to be careful to be pragmatic about it and not let our feelings about what workers deserve or what is fair cloud that ultimately there might be unintended consequences from these policies. host: scott winship, thank you for stopping by. guest: thanks for having me. host: the president will be talking about this and other issues tuesday evening during the state of the union address.

new security concerns for the athletes in sochi, russia. the state department advising those athletes not to wear red, white and blue outside the ring of steel or their area of competition. we will get more on this coming up in just a moment. yatthew roy jansky -- rojansk will be joining us from the wilson center. nancy callow is joining us from our radio studios. >> good morning. the sochi olympics will be one of the topics on today's sunday tv talk shows, as well as the president's upcoming state of the union address in politics this year. you can hear rebroadcasts of all the programs on c-span radio. it begins at noon eastern with "meet the press." today's guests include rand paul and senator dick durbin. 1:00 p.m., "this week," with jay

carney, peter king. former republican senator rick santorum. 2:00 p.m., "fox news sunday." dan pfeiffer, mitch mcconnell. "state of the union" follows at 3:00 with another appearance by dan pfeiffer and rand paul. also russia's ambassador to the u.s. 4:00, "face the nation," with ted cruz and chuck schumer. as wellman mike mccall and bill daley. the sunday network tv talk shows are on c-span radio, brought to you as a public service by the networks and c-span. those rebroadcasts begin at noon eastern with "meet the press." 1:00, "this week."

3:00, "state of the union." 4:00, "face the nation ~ -- nation." listen to them on 90.1 fm in the washington, d.c. area, channel xm -- xm radio and at www.c-span.org. >> bill came right up to graduating and hillary came a year later. the leffler law school at the university of arkansas. she was a professor and taught classes. educatedas a wellesley , ivy league law school grad that had worked in d.c. >> first lady hillary clinton,

monday night at 9:00 eastern live on c-span and c-span3, also on c-span radio and www.c- span.org. launched its first c-span schoolbus in 1993, the sitting hundreds of schools and communities and raising awareness on how c-span covers programming. the c-span bus continues on the road, on the campaign trail and visiting book festivals, history events, education conferences and schools. look for us on the road an online on our website, www.c- span.org. also follow us on twitter. all brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. this winter university students will get their chance to visit the c-span bus and join us on "washington journal." matthew want to welcome as we turn ourky

attention to security concerns in sochi. this headline from the "washington post" -- u.s. officials worry about russia possibility to keep sochi safe. 2007 as thek to international olympic committee made its announcement. [video clip] >> the international olympic committee has the honor of the 22nd olympic winter games in 2014 are awarded to the city of sochi. [cheers] that announcement from the international olympic commission. the top three contenders from this year's games.

i want to put this on the screen because we are moving from russia to south korea four years from now, another potential hotbed of terrorism or security concerns. any major sporting event in the modern era is going to attract a lot of attention, because terrorism is not fundamentally about military victories on a battlefield. it's about changing public perceptions and politics. that tension will lead to targeting. tention will lead to targeting. host: the fbi and other security officials saying we will be over there, but we are windowdressing. there will be 40,000 russian troops on hand.

there's a lot of context to that. the relationship has become frosty in the last year or so. russia has been dealing with terrorism for a long time, arguably for 100 years or more. in the modern era, mega- terrorist attacks in russia if you scaled to russia's population are similar in scale to the 9/11 attacks. they have been happening with some regularity in russia. you have had the metro system attacks, black widow attacks. it's a major phenomenon in russia for many years now they're prepared to deal with it. host: was it a mistake for the ioc to award the olympics to sochi? guest: they make their decisions

based on mr. ace -- things that are mysteries to all of us. . it was a debacle because it was boycotted by the west over the afghan invasion. for is an opportunity corruption to come out in its new role. originally that was thought to be $10 billion. that was supposed to be a positive sign their prepared to invest heavily in making the games a success. the asked about sids is reality of big infrastructure projects in russia, -- since is the reality of big infrastructure projects in russia and corruption. in addition to the story

this morning there is this accompanying photograph, one of the thousands of russian troops, part of the security detail in sochi in what is being called the 60 mile ring of steel. kathy lally is following this as , and she's joining us on the phone. let me ask you about the state department concern on the warning to u.s. athletes in any american who travels to sochi, not to advertise you are an american citizen. what's the back story on that? i think they're just say exercise common sense. i have been here for three and a half years. i have never felt any particular threat to cause i'm an american.

that a big event like this you don't know who's going to be coming. want peoplehas not to stay away from -- want people to stay way from the olympics, it just said be cautious. people to stay away from the olympics, it just said be cautious. tell us what you know about what the u.s. has offered and what if anything the russian government wants from the u.s.. in general the u.s. has said if we can help you in anyway, let us know. primarily it's a russian responsibility on russian soil.

i think they have bid -- been not too standoffish but not embracing help either. host: let me ask you about mike mccall,. he traveled to sochi in has a lot of concerns about security. his concern about the lack of sharing information between russian security officials and those in the west, how big of a problem potentially is that. it is been a persistent

condition. the u.s. works around it. after 9/11, the russians were helpful about sharing intelligence and information. it is not been as thorough since then. host: sochi is located along the black sea. give us a sense of the geography. why this is such a concern because of the potential of terrorism. where the north 250 milesit's about from where there has been

activity, militant almost daily shootouts with .olice after the war in chechnya was 2000, thearound violence moved to dagestan. it is been difficult there the last few years. there is a fear that the resettlement will spill over into sochi. and that the people causing problems in dagestan will want to cause a problem in sochi. is a moscowlally bureau chief for the "washington post." thanks for being with us.

what is the ring of steel? guest: it's a reference to the notion of closing down the sochi area. it is within a few hundred miles of dagestan, which is on the far opposite edge of the north caucuses. to a turbulent border region of the former soviet republic of georgia. it is a fringe part of the old soviet union. it is russian territory, but you're going to have to control the space if you want to make sure the games are safe. the security forces are a huge number for a small area and they

are closing the borders. it's just a few tens of kilometers away from sochi. host: that is the same region tamerlan term -- brothers are from? guest: the tsarnaev brothers were ethnic tensions -- chechens. the same basic region. be, what is the inspiration coming out of the north caucuses' islamist mov ement. individuals who get access to the sochi games -- you cannot keep people out. those individuals going to choose to cause trouble, cooperate with international terrorist organizations because they're inspired by what the

islamist insurgency is calling for? will there be open warfare around sochi? of course not. host: our guest is with the wilson center. you can get more information by logging onto wilsoncenter.org. it's my pleasure to talk with you. here in america and we have the same terror. we don't know when or where they're going to strike or if they're going to strike. same there will be this problem as it is around the world. have an islamic sitting in our presidency now and we don't know when he's what to open his hand and give us his real kenyan birth right. and it we will find out

will come. as his grandmother said on the interview when she was interviewed for tv, i was the first to hold them -- him. when the commentator ask you left kenya, she said, i have never left kenya. the next question was, do you intend to leave canada? -- kenya? she said, i have no intention of ever leave a kenya. host: we appreciate you making your comments. this is from one of our viewers. guest: my understanding is they're sending a couple of ships. american warships go in and out of the black see all the time.

turkey is a nato ally. this should not be interpreted as an american major military presence. the u.s. is contributing its logistical contingency in case something happens, in case there has to be evacuations, humanitarian intervention. something could go wrong with fresh water. the u.s. is in a position to assist. is right, the russians could handle this themselves. a viewer says -- any insights on that? i can imagine is that

of course politics plays into it. the fact that putin went into thousand seven and lobbied to get sochi -- in 2007 and lobbied to get sochi on the olympic .genda the olympic committee is running a business for international humanitarian welfare. it's also got to have customers. it makes sense they ioc would've chosen that. it is the more than 30 years since russia had the chance to host the games. the time was due for russia to have another bite at it. host: this is from michigan, 34

-- went to lake placid, new york. this was a last-minute move. this is a picture from the new york times. let's go to mario in connecticut. caller: good morning. the russians are having a heads up given by the terrorists themselves, much like the u.s. had a heads up given by england knewther countries that there were terrorists coming to attack us on 9/11. the fbih prior to 9/11 talked to the fbi terrorist operations center and said we want to keep a terrorist from flying a plane into the world trade center. how is it that the u.s. wants to chime in and criticize russia? one of the biggest

problems in preventing a terrorist incident will always be two separate real intelligence from white noise. after the fact it's going to be relatively common that you have some information out there they could have pointed towards a specific attack. there's no question that the is is getting information today. in terrorism, you are dealing capability, and opportunity. does the target or potential victim give them the opportunity to follow through with the attack. what the russians are trying to do by ringing around sochi, having intelligence is make sure

there's no opportunity at all. host: our guest is matthew wilson center.he he's a former executive director of the partnership for a secure america, founded by two former members of congress. he's also the founder of arnegie's ukraine program deputy director of the russia- eurasia program at the carnegie endowment for international peace. michael makes this point on our twitter page. this from the "new york times." putin's olympic fever dream. the main areas where the olympics will be taking place, the site of the opening ceremony and ice arena. guest: the most important part of the story is the russian side

of the story, why is putin making such an issue of the sochi olympics? why is he spending $50 billion? it's about restoring russia's status and pride. it's about the long-term viability of putin's political system and the order he established in the country, and whetheress of sochi, russia's athletes succeed, whether the games are safe, whether it is perceived internationally to have been a smooth and successful experience. all these things will bear on and the system he established in russia, if it has a long-term future in the country. badly, it will be a story about politics in russia itself because it will reveal fundamental problems. hopefully those things don't happen.

the consequences would be negative for everyone. itt: the weather, because has been so mild in and around sochi. a caller on the independent line. what we're trying to do is fix symptoms of a problem and not the core problem. in 2013, there were two visits to russia. putin was steadfast. what we're experiencing is the second stage of the game. we almost saudi arabia is behind

all of this -- all know that saudi arabia is behind all of this. i'm asking your guest, does he ideas about this relationship these days? yes, thank you. what i know about the saudi- russian relationship is that it has been hot and cold. you pointed out the syria issue has been a huge source of tension. there was a time not long ago where the russians were hopeful that one of their major exports, arms, could lead to a big deal with the saudis, maybe tens of billions of dollars. the saudis, when you consider the size of the saudi ,elationship with the u.s.

ultimately concluded it was a zero-sum choice for them. they could go with a large arms deal with the u.s., $50 billion or $60 billion deal. my understanding is they went with that agreement. this was taken and moscow to be quite a letdown, almost a bit trail. the russians are not eager to play ball with the saudi's and their position on syria. because russia's popularity on the arab street, certainly among those who support the insurgency in syria, has plummeted so much. russians see this as potentially an uptick in threats against them. one thing they have proven to intelligence documents is there is a connection between individuals who have experience

with terrorism in the middle east who then flow into and out .f the north caucasus host: welcome to sochi, a soviet style megaproject that would make joseph stalin proud. guest: it probably would make stalin proud. the soviet system was about delivering massive infrastructural achievements. a lot of people, when they're seeking to defend stalin's le gacy -- that is still an open debate. not stalin was bad, end of story. they point to the fact that he billed the moscow metro. he won the war against nazi germany. he billed the white sea canal, these massive infrastructure projects.

relative to that, putin is running a clean show. there is a kind of similarity and the idea that you build a major infrastructure project to show how successful your system is, how successful you are as a leader. this in a way covers up the inadequacies. host: james is joining us from great britain, in wales. good afternoon. how are you guys? ok? host: where are you in wales? caller: cardiff. about this also to olympics and the security. france, germany, and other countries are sending their own military in support.

a lot of police forces, they are sending spotters from the antiterrorism forces to work with the russians. just in case there are people who have been on watch lists in the past. i do not think a september the 11th style attack will happen. it's the person with a backpack who is the greatest concern for the games. your previous color from connecticut called the u.k. england. wales will be hosting the nato heads of state meeting. can you please try to educate your people on the difference between england and the u.k. a little bit, please? thank you. host: thank you. guest: the u.k. is a federation of sorts.

one analogy that is interesting, i remember having a wonderful vacation in the mountains of northern wales. like the high country of scotland, the north caucasus of russia is an outlying region of the russian federation. is a sense in which it was never fully a part of the central of the core polity as other parts of the empire. russified thanre the north caucasus. does that mean everyone wants to commit terrorist attacks? no. i'm sure there are separate tests in parts of the u.k. and europe. you take large numbers, millions of people, and the caller is right. a backpack bomber is possible. just takes motive and

opportunity and the question is going to be whether the russian authorities have been successful enough in controlling information and locking down the flow of people and resources into and out of the area. host: the subject of this comment from a viewer saying -- jay carney was asked this week what, if anything the president wanted to be done in russia. [video clip] >> the u.s. has offered its full support in any assistance to the russian government in its security preparations for the sochi games. will beauthorities responsible for overall security at the olympics. bureau ofdepartment diplomatic security has a security leak for the united states. we will send diplomatic security and fbi agents. that is standard operating procedure for large events like this. thousands of u.s. citizens,

athletes from team usa, american corporate sponsors and members of the u.s. media are present for an extended period of time. the u.s. and russia have had discussions about counterterrorism in the past. the u.s. has been working through the national security as we do with any host country. u.s. citizens planning to attend the games should be in contact with the state department. potential threats to safety can be found on the embassy's website and the department of state's travel website. we have seen it uptick in threat reporting prior to the olympics, which is of concern. it is also not unusual for a major international event. we have offered assistance to

the russians, any assistance they might need to counter that threat or i. host: very careful to couch his comments in terms of, this is not unusual. things the single biggest we can do with russian security officials? guest: i agree with kathy sharing.- intelligence the odds that we are going to learn something that is regional that the russians do not already know is very slim. they have the best assets on the ground in places like dagestan. twor grad, where there were bombings recently. we monitor transactions. we know where money is being sent in international banking system because we control a big chunk of it.

we can share that information with the russians. the most important message is reciprocity. brotherstsarnaev attacked the marathon, so similar -- brotherhood, athletic competition -- absolutely ruined and wrecked by sin. was. the attitude from the russians was, -- violence. the attitude from the russians was, we could not warn you about these people. we need to get out of that mindset. the u.s. is prepared to come forward and cooperate without preconditions, without making it about the deplorable human rights record of the russian government. if we can put politics aside and cooperate as well as possible around these games, hopefully this sets the president that the next time around when it's a threat to the u.s. the russians and others will do the same for us. host: let's go to walter in

baltimore. caller: in light of what he just i'm disheartened by the coward snowden over there. this is what the msa is about, this is what sharing is about. how long before these clowns, chicken hawks in america realize this is not a new world order but a safety issue for all of us, not just for the racist right but for all of us? there is an awareness about the security risks around sochi. more discussion about terrorism and preventing terrorism at this games than ever before. the question will always be about the political context. you're talking about whether snowden is seen as a hero. the problem.

a lot of societies, israel is make sample, russia increasingly is one of these -- they realize terrorism is a part of daily life. they have to make sacrifices and compromises and these become built into their lives and the way they go in and out of restaurants and stores all the time, and the way they interact with the state. they know their calls are being listened to. america, were not fully comfortable yet and conversant with that reality. i'm not saying we should be our have to be. i hope we end up in a world in which it is not so ubiquitous that we don't have to be. there right to suggest wishful thinking that this is not a problem and hoping it will all go away and we can go back to an 18th-century state of nature, bill of rights, pure and simple -- the debate is more complicated than that today, especially if you want to save human lives. host: quick question from chapel

hill, tennessee. caller: my main concern is with the economy. are we to pay to protect the russians from terrorists? the answer is yes, we spent a lot of money on security, not only in the u.s. but around the world. the argument that the administration that appropriate that money is going to make is that this is fundamental to the success of the global economy. the question is, is the money that is being spent being spent as well as a can be. being unwilling to share like kids in a sandbox, where wasting money. news reporting that a lot of people linked to the russian government rounding up potential threats in the area

around sochi. how real is that? guest: potential threats are like what they say. host: literally pulling these people in and taking them to prisons or other facilities. guest: there have been movies about this. if you can predict the crime, you go and arrest the person before they can commit the crime. the russians are making the calculation that at this moment there is so much laserbeam focus on sochi and so much concern that if anything small thing happens, the whole thing unravels -- that has political consequences for putin and the russian state as well -- they won't take any chances. the effect of arresting people who have not done anything wrong yet or would not have done anything wrong is probably going to be to radicalize more people. ae russians are making judgment call today because they're so concerned about security around sochi. rojansky is with

the wilson center. thank you for being with us. we will continue the conversation tomorrow morning on "washington journal." zwillich will join us with a preview of the president's state of the union address on tuesday. we will turn our attention to the affordable care act with rebecca adams, who follows the story for cq health beat. we will turn our attention to the head start program. that is all tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. love coverage of the state of the union speech on tuesday. be sure to check out "american history tv today" as we let you look back at some of the past state of the union addresses. thanks for being with us on this

sunday. enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week ahead. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] ♪ ♪ >> coming up next, "newsmakers" with tony perkins. he talks about his organization and politics in 2014. the inauguration ceremony for new jersey governor chris christie. the later stephen scheer talks about the health care law impact in his state. >>