prison population was going to require three new prisons. this took money away from roads and schools. policyas public foundation develop solutions based on conservative principles. they met the needs of victims and offered opportunities for inmates to turn their lives around. their top priority was to keep the public safe while bringing prison costs down. witheforms were passed bipartisan support. governor perry signed them. the results are impressive. .nmate population has decreased there are no new plans to build new prisons. texas $3ms have saved billion. the crime rate is now the lowest it has been since 1968.

[applause] panel over here. if you have questions for us, tweet us. #nolanpanel the governor will be right back. >> he walked out of me. >> i just wanted to make another entry. we were talking about programs we did put in place. i had a more expanded list. think that what we have

done in the state of texas can be a model. states need to be laboratories of innovation. they are going to be some states the put programs in place. i will give you a good example. jindal in louisiana was involved in creating a seminary program in angola. it was the meanest resins of all time. bobby was engaged in getting the seminary started. inhas made a huge difference that population over there. ofis a faith-based way affecting people in a house of way. i'm not going to say that it is for everyone and everybody should do that. it.ook it and appropriated

we appropriate good ideas from each other. i think it is important for all governors to understand that concept. it is the laboratory of innovation that occurs in the states. if you see something in louisiana, we took it to the department of criminal justice and implemented it. now it is a very prospering program. there is southwestern seminary. concept.rivate sector --inity degrees are being divinity degrees are being bestowed.

those individuals go to other prisons. it is a powerful program. it is making a big difference. i am not saying it is for everyone in every state. concepts thathose is making a difference. you have made use of drug courts. with all the money you saved, you are able to put some of that money into treatment. most prisons asked in a get treatment. treatment.0% get in texas, every single one has treatment available. was started in 2000. i want to say 2003. i'm sure some he will fact check me on that. it is been a decade.

this was a democrat district judge in dallas texas who came and sat with us and talked about the initial drug court concept. it made sense. we have implemented and it has worked very well. i hope people across the country -- there are not many things that the president of united states and his attorney general and i agree about. president obama and attorney general holder pointed to texas and what we are doing with our drug courts. rate in the state of

texas is as low as it has been since 1967. we have prisons. isifornia's prison capacity at 180%. in texas it is 96%. we set a prison down last year. that is the message across the country. you want to talk about real conservative governance? shut prisons down. save that money. that is what can happen with these drug courts. they use the different tools. power toudges the decide.

hope we will talk about mandatory sentencing guidelines. this is a really bad concept. texas is a tough on crime state. i don't think anybody gets confused. somebody,t to murder texas will not be the place you want to go do that. we are not soft on crime. i would get a reputation for being a smart on crime state. this is important. expect a not discussion about criminal justice reform and prison reform . this is a big problem. it is an expensive problem. it creates more expensive

problems. conservatives can fix this. our friends on the left have zero credibility when it comes to focusing on reducing criminal activity and punishing people who deserve to be punished. this is not a moderate liberal thing where we should be. this is getting to punishing real criminals. are keeping the cost down so we don't have to loot the american taxpayers to fill prisons. if you leave them in prison long enough, you get additional problems. this is about fighting crime smartly. there is a group i want to take a look at. barry -- they are center-right

political leaders. if these ideas had not started in texas, it would be harder to sell them. it could be a really good idea. the number of states that have passed progress along the lines , these areking about not blue states. i walked in and said i have a good idea and they do this in vermont. they would laugh at you. right cang from the seriously criminal justice .eform people whose lives are damaged because the bad guys are not in prison because we were dealing

with people who did not need to be in prison. about a conservative initiative. these are ideas that have worked in texas. this is federalism at its best. it. you take why did they not do that to vermont first? the right ona of crime, smart on crime reforms are coming state-by-state. if something is not working, i want to find out about it in arizona.

the number of states was just added to last night. the mississippi senate passed in a series of reforms. the texas model is now being used in the other states. the laboratory of the 50 states has shown that it works. we have a person here who is the most unique point of view on prison. he ran the largest prison in the united states, rikers island. then he became an nypd commissioner. he was commissioner on 9/11. he is an american hero. targeted by the left. was in theman present and spent three years in

custody. he has the perspective now of .hat lee's share with us your observation. , ai have been a cop correctional officer, a detective thomas drug agent. ran the nypd. i was nominated for homeland security. i would to prison for three years. i have been in this business for 30 years. dedicated. i know the job. i know the system. i know what it is supposed to accomplish. i know it is broken. men that id with believed did really bad things.

people would tell me i have 10 years. people would tell me i've got 15. i am in my 19th year. ais is for a first time nonviolent drug offense. a young man with five grams of cocaine gets 10 years. i was in prison with a man that sold a wales tooth on ebay. he went to federal prison for selling a wales tooth on ebay. fishermen caught too many fish. i put people in prison. i put them there for a long time. these were bad man who did bad things. they try to kill me. they killed my partners.

i seized tons of cocaine from them. then i go to prison and i am housed with men that are therefore first time nonviolent nonsense offenses. did i do something wrong? maybe. did they do something wrong? maybe. we are putting people in prison for regulatory and it been a straight of issues. they do not need prison. if some he told me i would meet good people, i would have laughed in their face. i met some really good men. decent men. good family men. they made a mistake. some of them did not even know what they did. they went to prison. they went to prison because the system is broken. there are people who belong in

prison. i have to compliment the governor. texas started the change in this country. the rest of the country should follow. it texas realized it's unsustainable economically. you cannot continue down this road. all the states of the following texas and will continue to follow texas because they have to pay for their budgets. they have to pay for those people going to prison. the federal government prints money. where is the biggest harm in the federal government? the mandatory minimums. we have to create alternatives and we have to stop putting that don't have to be there to know their mistake. i was sentenced to three years. i know many were sentenced to a year and a day.

it is not really a year and a day. it is a life sentence. i knew a 19-year-old young man. a military man. he sold night vision goggles on ebay. he went to prison for three years. if that guy lives to be 110 years old, he is going to be a convicted felon and it will have his entiren him for financial future. anything he wants to do with his family. there is a list. they have a list of 50,000 different things that come from that label of being a convicted felon.

you have to do something to change that. you can't punish some before life for making a mistake. more times than i can count. this country that has constitution, as is broken. the punishment does not fit the crime. [applause] realize that when i was in the legislature. i presumed people prosecuting crimes were the good guys. a lot of them are. most of them are. there is also a bureaucracy. understand, the

people doing time for these small amounts. these heavyors have sentences. only seven percent of the people they prosecute our four major dealers. most of them are the small fry. why pick on these first-time offenders? taking on a big kingpin means you are threatened. a lot of bureaucrats afraid. they go after the numbers of small people. that is not getting cocaine off the street. score. run up there one of the things we need to realize is this is not just program.overnment

we should be as suspicious of the departments of correction and their spending as we are the department of transportation and the department of health. this is a scarlet letter for life. felons fromprohibit cutting hair. one of the things you learn inside prison is to cut hair. they are prohibited from cutting hair. why on earth would we prevent them from that? most won't ever be able to work in a school question could they not be a gardener? why would be prohibitive for working in a school or a hospital? these are impediments we put in their way. part of the conservative effort needs to be looking at these

things and saying the bureaucracy should not be stopping these people. it should be protecting the public. the workers who are in competition. you have gone to all of these states. an apostle of this. i hope you'll go by the booth. can you tell us right on crime? >> we had great leadership from the texas policy foundation. i ran into it with a little working group. we did not have broader conservative movements. it took me aasons couple of years, this was the one person in the room of 10 who had not been to prison or had a

family member in prison. the others had learned that there was this problem. i used to visit prisons for my was in college. it is not the same thing. they let you out at the end of the day. begun torvatives have say a couple of things. th [applause] clear on the government should not do these things. however, having armed forces to keep the canadians on their side of the border, that is written down. aisons to punish bad guys and judicial system to enforce the law and properly right contracts. that's in the constitution. that's a legitimate function of government. we need toes -- spend as much time thinking how

we do the stuff government should do intelligently and less expensively and better than any other country or any other state in the world. that is as important as making sure of the things the government should stop doing. it's a more mature conservative movement to say that we are ready to start governing as well as cutting it back. getting it smaller is important. but even the list of things that are mentioned in the constitution that are legitimate functions of a reasonable list itself can be done more intelligently and less expensively and controlled by people. leader looking at the disaster of world war i said war is too important to leave to the generals. the judicial system is too important to leave to the prosecutors. you need to get more involved

and not have one set of people set the rules to make risen .uards' life easier not to have less recidivism and other things. we needed to focus on running prisons right and the judicial system right and the military right while saying that the government ought not to do these things of all. i have a request for them. i'm a techno-klutz. i can't see what the questions are coming from the audience. perry, you came up with --olution >> the texas aggies going to fix it. [laughter]

we are offering solutions. it seems the republicans governors association would be a great forum to share this and have them according to campaign --und the country >> i was reading more of the retweets from those going on social media that rick santorum is outside having a good event out there. [laughter] your wife says to bring back the milk. [laughter] he asked about the republican governors association and the interaction between governors. we do that. that there are other organizations out there, the democratic governors interacting

-- we are not that siloed. we do compete with each other. it makes people uncomfortable. competition is uncomfortable. when i show up in maryland with some tv ads that are talking all have and you wouldn't it be rise for most of you to move to texas so you don't have to pay those outrageous taxes? the governor of those states sometimes get a little bit peeved. but that's ok. it's not personal. this is about having an open conversation. people should be able to pick and choose the place they want to live, whether it is economic issues or social issues. the most comfortable ones. that's the beauty of these laboratories of innovation. we do look at best practices and economic best practices

and educational best practice and criminal justice best practices and the republican governors association share those. i want to go back to the president of the united states and the attorney general. both recognizing that what we have done in texas -- i know this is probably hard for him to the minimum sentencing .uidelines are wrong they are not working. there is a place that has implement it some programs that are making a difference in people's lives economically, making sense. recidivism rise is making sense. --ting people's lives back if we are going to be honest citizens of this great country, teeny able to give people a second chance -- being able to give people a second chance is really important.

we are not perfect. towards perfection everyday. we hope someday to obtain it, but probably won't. the fact is, that should be our goal. up idea that we lock people and throw them way and never give them a chance at redemption is not what america's about. i hope that's truly what the conservative cause in america is all about. [applause] congress aboutin suggesting that they think through mandatory minimums and have a list of what they were. it there was a list of things that had been in the headlines and a politician wanted to have orress conference, raising establishing a mandatory minimum saying, i am against carjacking.

treason has a minimum of five years. were way other crimes out there. just outrageous. it was clearly proven by somebody's need to get a headline one day and relive with s later.ade's le there are families against , speakingminimums specifically to that issue at the federal and state level. there are a couple of bills before congress right now, you can find out at the justice fellowship site or write on crime -- >> all the good guys on our team are taking the lead on this. there is a problem. you can't let the left once again identify correctly a problem and then stick on top of it a solution that makes it worse.

we have to wrestle with the problem and come up with a solution consistent with conservative principles. >> if any of you want to contact me about the acu involvement in criminal justice, e-mailing. secondernor mentioned chances. as ais something that, christian, i firmly believe in. even non-christians believe in giving people a second chance. have seen the people that have tremendous potential. but because of the felony conviction, they are held back. tell us about your thoughts on second chances. kid getsear-old arrested in baltimore. for minimal possession of cocaine. he is tied into a conspiracy. he gets 10 years.

he is sent to prison for 10 years and he does a .5. during that time in federal prison, he really gets no , no life improvement skills, no tools necessary to be a better person when he gets on the outside because he gets no education. he is sent to prison for 10 8.5. and he does he learns to steal. it's a training ground for criminality. you put this kid in prison and years andor a . 8.5 is and we believe he is going to go back to society a better person. and i wouldlass talk to these on men and say, listen, you have to get your ged. you have to get education. you have to pay attention.

that same young man looked at me and said, i am black. i'm a convicted felon. that ged is not going to help me ever. you know what? i know men right now who went to prison on minor white-collar offenses that have doctorates. they have masters degrees. they have bachelors degrees. they can't find work. they can't get hired. if they can't get hired, do you is everat young man going to get hired? never. the problem with that is, there are thousands of them in prison. is that really what we want for society? you want to take all the societal values out of a person have and infuse them

with institutional values? and then let them go back to society. it is wrong. it is wrong for this country, wrong for this party. if there is ever a time that this stuff can get fixed, this is the time. i will say it one last time. if texas can do it, the entire country can do it. [laughter] [applause] your remarks -- thank you for your service, sir. thank you for giving back so much to this country. ofust want to, for the sake some governor somewhere who will see this, over the course of

just this last legislative session, i want to go over a number -- we had a very successful session. i signed into law, requiring our prison system to provide vocational programs to inmates based on the texas job market and what we were going to need when individuals would be able to get out. requiring inmates to be given more information so that they would have professional licensing information and restrictions before they enrolled in a vocational program. liabilityve limited to employers that hire former inmates. that is a very powerful message. people say, oh, you've been to prison. to see that piece of legislation

, here is the protection that you need from a limited liability standpoint. i prison entrepreneurship program that was organized by a houston nonprofit and baylor university to issue certificates in entrepreneurship when they completed this program. prisonsose prisons -- are going to be used as a training ground. one way or the other. whether you will train them to criminals ord train them to be entrepreneurs. the choice is ours. neighbors.l be our 95% of the prisoners will be released sunday. wouldn't it be better if they had skills to have a job and to be a good parent? to be a good citizen. there is no lawyer up in

pennsylvania -- he was a member --the federal reserve board over half of his employees at his plant rx offenders. are exis plant offenders. he said because jesus told us to. he found is that they are the best employees because they are so grateful. he's careful who he chooses. but they look out for each other. they keep each other on the straight and narrow. over 50% of his employees now are asked offenders because they offenders ex because they show up and recruit each other from the good guys inside. they know who the good guys are. this is one businessman doing it. he said not only is it a moral

decision, it's a good business decision. if you have a company, think bout hiring ex offenders. put them with a chaplain to see how they are. but then with some club or church that you are in. give them that second chance. we are coming to the end of the time. i will tell you, eli wrote for the weekly standard that this effort of conservatives taking arguably the most significant social reform movement from the right in decades. it is. this is our chance to show that we can provide solutions to a vexing problem and show that they work. we invite you to be part of it. it's exciting. we're making the community better by applying conservative principles. >> let me wrap up my part by , asng, our goal and our job

governors or legislators, is to create a climate in which investors can create jobs. this country does not have the jobs available, whether it is our veterans coming back or inmates that are being released gottenciety, we have not to the real heart of this issue. my plea for the folks in washington -- my plea specifically for the president of the united states is to open up the xl pipeline and open up our federal lands so there is jobs being created and using the resources we have in this country. but tax policy into place that basically gives incentives to people to move their manufacturing back to the nine states. if the president really cares

about these individuals, whether they are veterans or inmates or young men and women going into the workforce -- >> this is the way to do it. >> create a climate in america where the entrepreneur knows that he or she can risk their capital and have a chance to have a return on that investment . then the american dream truly becomes available for all. give them a second chance. [applause] >> thank you all very much. thank you panelists. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome ralph reed.

>> good morning, cpac. are you having a good cpac? it's great to be with you this morning as we celebrate not only the conservative movement but we celebrate america and what made this country great. my friends, make no mistake about it. what made this country great, what still makes it exceptional and unique today is the fact that the pioneers who were fired by spain and founded this nation crossed oceans, braved dangers and settled a continent to build a nation that honored almighty god. today, the greatness of the nation that they built is in grave danger.

it is in grave danger in no small measure because our freedom as americans to practice our religious beliefs and to express our faith in god is under assault as never before. there is in truth a war on religion and a war on religious values. being waged by this administration and by their radical allies. a war that goes between a stubborn, secular insensitivity outat times, all hostility to those in the faith. unless you think that is hyperbole -- let me point out that two years ago, this administration sued an evangelical lutheran church that had dismissed a minister and a

teacher and actually argued in federal court that no church in america has a right to hire and fire its own ministers. this astonishing argument was so morally and legally repugnant that the supreme court ruled against the obama administration 9-0, including both justices appointed by the president. [applause] week, left wing bullies force to the defeat of a religious freedom bill that did nothing other than allow people of faith, standing in court, do defend themselves when they are forced to violate their deeply held religious police. here in maryland, not far from where we are gathered right now, this administration is attempting to force an order of

catholic nuns who care for the elderly and for the poor to pay for health care services that violate their religious teachings and assault their conscience, including taking the lives of the innocent unborn. now, thisna, right administration is trying to block the right of minority toldren to receive state aid attend either a religious or a charter school where they are safe and where they can learn. 50 years ago, george wa llace said that african-american students could not come in. today, the obama administration stands in that same schoolhouse door and refuses to let those children leave. it was wrong then and it's wrong now. obama, butresident

those children go. [applause] , in a brazen act of lawlessness, the attorney ,eneral of the united states speaking to the association of state attorneys general, him not tounseled defend their state's marriage statute. why? because he did not agree with those laws. the chief lawen enforcement officer of the united states shows no respect whatsoever for the rule of law and shows no respect whatsoever for the state constitutions and the duly passed laws of sovereign states, particularly when that same attorney general

has lied under notes and congress -- lied under oath in congress and has been found in contempt of congress, i say that is an impeachable offense and is time for eric holder to go. [applause] but that's not all. irs,e scandal plagued while senior officials take the fifth amendment, that agency is thatpting to enforce rules would deny our first amendment right and shred the constitution of the united states. these rules would outlaw voter registration drives in many churches, prevent the distribution of nonpartisan voter guides in proximity to a primary election and, believe it or not, these rules would even

prevent the posting of the voting records of elected officials on websites. there has been a torrent of protest against these regulations over 140,000 comments filed, demanding that these regulations be withdrawn. but more than just amending that the regulations be with drawn, we call on this administration to fire those responsible and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and fumigate that building and abolish the irs once and for all. [applause] none of this is terribly surprising. from an administration that has been led by a man who once said the american people "cling to guns and religion" because they have antipathy in their hearts

for people different from themselves. ort's equally disappointing more disappointing is that this radical secular agenda and this war on religion is, at times, aided and abetted by republicans who lack the courage to stand and fight. [applause] all, last week in ohio, georgia and arizona, it was republican legislative leaders who caved under pressure from the liberal media and the lies of the radical left and killed releases -- killed religious freedom bills that were modeled after the federal religious freedom restoration act passed by a bipartisan congress and signed into law by bill clinton. i have a message for these d cowardice who show the

backbone of the chocolate eclair. we are done following those who advocate mushy moderation. we are no longer going to follow the counsel of those who offered compromise.e who counsel only the suggestion of surrender. we will not follow lukewarm so-called leaders anymore who's is to seek the approval of those who sure none of our core values. we will not follow them any longer. [applause] from now on, we are going to

2014-2016 and beyond, nothing but unapologetic conservatives that defend the principles upon which this nation was founded, including the biblical principles of freedom of religion, the sacred institution of marriage and the sanctity of life. [applause] , may ithour of testing be our finest hour as conservatives. , this save this nation last best hope of mankind and give them the country they richly deserve. >> on saturday, newt gingrich,

alaskalter, and former governor, vice presidential nominee sarah palin. live coverage begins at 12:40 p.m. eastern on c-span. suffice it to say that most of health policy really is not health policy at all. it is essentially budget policy. ducks the congress just on so many of the big issues and ends up putting together something that in the parlance of washington might be called a patch. maybe it is an extension. maybe it is called a stopgap. but the fact is it ducks the big issues. the bigtedly ducks

issues, particularly on medicare where you have 10,000 people eligible for medicare every day. with is a very real cost that. now the challenge is to try to find a way to move beyond this fixation on budgeting. it would be one thing if it was sound budget policy, but so often, as i have indicated, we don't get these structural issues and move beyond this sort of lurch from one kind of what a calamity to another and come up with sensible budget policy. this weekend on c-span, ron wyden on the challenges facing medicare and hospitals. saturday morning at 10:00 eastern. andbook tv," the historical cultural ties between russia and ukraine. on c-span3 "american history tv," george washington's mount vernon. sunday night at 8:00.

do not have a criminal investigation role. we have a vast enforcement role, enforcing the federal securities there.make sure that is we also write the rules for wall street and the investment advisers, but we don't have criminal authority. power to bring civil fraud actions and negligence actions against those who violate federal securities laws. we cannot send anybody to jail, but we can assess civil penalties. frankly, our level of penalties is not as high as we would like to be, and there is some legislation in congress to give us the ability to assess higher penalties. we can require people do discords of their ill-gotten gains from their wrongdoing and we have the power to bar somebody from the securities industry so they cannot basically live another day to

defraud again. exchangety and commission chairman mary jo white, sunday night on c-span's "q & e." this"washington journal," is 45 minutes. inues. of the5 miles south capital is national harbor, maryland. right on the potomac river. that is where cpac is having its 41stl conference, the annual. sponsored by the american conservative union. david keene is the long-time chair of the american conservative union. 1984 to 2011? guest: that is right. host: what have you been doing? thet: i served two years as

president of the national rifle association. i have been serving as editorial editor of "the washington times." american conservative union -- did you helped to found that? thet: it was founded in late 1964, right after the goldwater campaign. bill buckley was crucial in putting it together. at that time, you can imagine after the goldwater loss, there was a big effort to put things back together. the acu was the result. , fromin those 50 years goldwater to some of the speakers you have today out there at cpac, how has conservatism changed? then, it was a small group. the first cpac was held 40 one years ago here in washington, the speaker was ronald reagan of california. there were about 100 people in attendance.

211,000 today, we have people in attendance. cpac has grown. just as important, the movement has grown. is notservative movement the same as the republican party. at the republican party is influenced significantly now by the conservative movement. which was not true back then. ast: yesterday was quite roster of speakers. who stood out for you? guest: i do not like to pick favorites, i think they all did a pretty good job. this is an opportunity for people to come, potential candidates and the like. to come and talk to and meet the conservative activists. the people that attend this conference are the people that anybody, whether they are running for state or national office, have to rely on to do the hard work in a campaign to support them. they want to come here to talk to these people.

it is the only place in the country where these people get together. reagan, in ronald majorgave his first speech outside the white house at this conference. he said the reason i am here giving this speech is i believe you dance with those who rub rung you. these are the people who got me to the presidency, i am here to thank them. potential candidates recognize that. it is just as true today as it was then. they come here to audition before the movement so people can get a sense of them, their positions, and whether they like them. about awill ask you couple headlines. cpac showcases a divided gop. this is "the hill." politico says paul ryan touts creative tension. is there creative tension at cpac? tension is ave

good term. this conference, over all these years, conservatives have debated and discussed and considered different strategic directions. and at different positions on issues that are important. exam is represents that feeling -- paul ryan very much represent that feeling that it is fine to be opposed. if you want to win, you have to highlight what you are going to do. that is what he talks about. other people talk about different things. it is not that they disagree. most people here generally agree in terms of principles. they often disagree in terms of strategy and tactics. they often had different priorities. defense people, economic conservatives, paul would be a good example of that. and social security. while they like -- and social

conservatives. while they like each other, they have different aspects. host: very few mentions yesterday of relatively hot topic for conservatives, gay marriage. why? is up to this bigger to pick his topics. i do not know -- it is up to the his topics.ick i don't know whether there is a panel on that. i have not seen anything about it. host: is is still a hot topic in conservative circles? strong beliefs a in traditional marriage. many conservatives believe that marriage as it was historically should not be the function of the state. it is a religious and civil ceremony that goes on within the movement. there are those who believe, i think most believe that you should not be discriminating or hurting people that are

different than you. neither should you be forced to accept things that you have objections to. i think the discussion among conservatives is more than a tendency on the part of some supporters of gay marriage, for example, or gay rights, to try to force other people to agree with them or to go along with what they want as opposed to letting everyone live. host: from your newspaper. this -- mcconnell works to reassure conservatives. what did you think of mitch mcconnell's speech? guest: it was fine. it was a great honor for senator coburn, who is leaving the senate for health reasons. that mitch mcconnell came as the senate leader to present him with an award for his service. that is really the reason that mitch mcconnell was here.

this goes to the whole strategic question. back in the 1960's and the early 1970's when there were disagreements within the republican coalition between the goldwater, and rockefeller wings. they had different visions of what should be done. today, if you were to talk to ted cruz, mitch mcconnell, and some others, their vision as to what ought to be accomplished does not differ very much. there is a consensus on conservative values and goals. sometimesences occur, they are very divisive, over tactics and strategy. wasink that mcconnell here emphasizing that he shares the vision of the people here in this convention. you lived in kentucky, would you support mitch mcconnell. guest: i would. host: what do you think about the fact that he is having a really rough time right now in his reelection?

guest: i am one who happens to believe that primaries and five for the nomination within a party are ultimately helpful to the party. i know the candidate does not always like that. i would be willing to bet that mcconnell overcomes that challenge and goes on to win the general election. being a party leader is a tough .osition you do not have the freedom to issue press releases and take the position that this is the way the world ought to be. you have to work with a coalition of people in your own party and try to get votes from the other party where possible to achieve some progress. the party leader's position is always open to criticism. lord knows mitch mcconnell has been criticized thomas sometimes unfairly and sometimes fairly. i think anybody in kentucky who looks at what he has been able

to accomplish what agree he is a pretty good leader. keene, lead editorial in "the washington times" this morning. harry's house of cards. talking about harry reid. did you write this? guest: i did not, i was busy here. i am not the only person with a pen. opponent tozing an avoid an argument over ideas is one of the lowest tricks in politics. this says principles are heavy baggage and a climb to power. the next season of "house of cards" is a year away. guest: i wish i had written that. host: david keene is our guest from cpac at national harbor.

phone numbers are on the screen. this tweet for you. are there any conservative democrats speaking at the conference, or are they extinct? guest: i don't know that they are extinct. if you go back to history in the 1960's and 1970's, the two parties were not as ideologically homogenous as they are today. of conservative democrats and a lot of moderate to liberal republicans. today that is not the case. there are some conservative democrats here, the sheriff of is an electedty democrat. he is going to be speaking. there may be some others. there are not a democrats from the u.s. senate, for example, which tends to march in lockstep to harry reid's demands. why was theng and, minority outreach panel meeting room so popular. standing room only. guest: conservatives are really

working to get their message out to different communities around the country. very interested and that. it is interesting because on the intellectual side in the conservative movement, there are a lot of minardi people. in terms of the politics and getting mass -- there are a lot of minority people. in terms of the politics and appeal, there is not much effort. when you look at the politics, it really amounts to getting out and doing the work necessary to meet people. the values of most of the minority communities, the values, not the votes, 10 to in thiswith those conference. they want to know how to make fromconnection that goes those values to the people that hold them. host: when you look at demographics, is immigration reform and tour -- is

immigration reform important for the hispanic vote? is an issue. it is important in many ways. one of the things that offended me over the last couple years in the debate over immigration reform is that it has been argued on those kinds of grounds. if we do this, maybe we will get some votes. something as important as the immigration rules and who we let andnd how we let them in enforce our border policies should not be decided on the basis of how many votes you are going to get from this group or that group. it should be decided on what is good for the american republic and the american economy. i do not look at it in terms of the politics. congressmen,can the congressman who gets the

highest percentage of the hispanic vote is from new mexico. he is very anti-immigration reform but he is out there. he knows his constituents. he is out there meeting with them. you do not always have to agree with them. if you get to like them you get the support. in terms be looked at of what is good for the country. people differ on that. i do think this, the two extremes in terms of debating wakeration reform ought to up and realize that neither one are going to have their way. they ought to sit down and decide what is realistic and how to fix the problems we have. host: when is the straw poll that cpac does? is released saturday afternoon. all the registrants during the conference vote. and pick their favorites. then the results are town

related and announced on saturday. it is interesting because the ,ress lise to say this year this guy is the favorite in terms of conservatives were present. that is fine and interesting. the reason the straw poll was put together is the other question. to find out where conservatives stand on some of the really important issues -- immigration the others.l that is what we look to when we analyze those poll results. host: david keene is our guest from "the washington times." opinion editor. clark calling in from wisconsin on our democrat line. caller: good morning. conservatives that they have lost the popular vote 5 times in the last 6 national elections? see from thean speeches, the body is moving

further to the right. nobody is going to vote, independents and others are not going to vote for someone that far to the right. guest: that is what i say about the democrats, they keep moving to the left. it did not bother bill clinton that he only got 43% of the vote. any political party in a two-party system has to shape its message and its product to get a majority of the vote. there are anomalies, of course. we have the electoral college, which can make the difference on the margin. and we can have third-party candidates as we had with the perot candidacy when bill clinton was running. is asking,uestioner he is asking it rather sarcastically but it goes to a good point. as changes take place in the country and people focus on different problems, the job of a party and a coalition of people

with strong beliefs is how to apply their values in a way that will attract majority support. it does not mean they should change their values. i do not advocate that democrats give up what they believe in. thatthink it is important if you believe strongly in something and if you are in the political area, you have to figure out how to make those values connect with voters. you have to figure out how to communicate those values and op programs that help the economy. if you cannot do that, you are going to lose. i think republicans and conservatives can and are doing that. ohio, republican line. you are on "washington journal." caller: i really appreciate what he just said answering back -- answering that guy.

what i like to see, i like to see a one to ten on each of them and then let people number them instead of just picking one. almost everyone on cpac so far, i am all for them. i am not for jeb bush, i do not trust the bushes. i see what is going on in florida, too. for most of them, you take a lot of good men with values and integrity. that is what this country needs -- back to values and integrity. i really appreciate what you just said. host: mr. keene? guest: thank you. host: was jeb bush invited? guest: i am not in charge of the invitations. and spokere last year to see pat down. as governor of florida, he was a pretty good conservative.

he has a marketing problem nationally because you can only thek of the fact if we had next presidential election, bush versus clinton again. we would have voters slashing their wrists. host: tweeting in. guest: conservatives believe that if you provide an atmosphere in which entrepreneurship can flourish, you create jobs and make life better. a way thattaxes in both stimulates the economy and puts more money into joe sixpack or anyone else's pocket, you economy and the life they live. that is the difference between

conservatives and liberals on the economic front. in addition, the one thing this country stands for is freedom to make your own decisions. most of the folks i know, i grew up in a union family. my father ran a bar where joe sixpack bought his sixpack. americans value freedom, that is what conservatives stand for. tennessee, independent line. our guest is david keene of "the washington times." hold that the democratic party is the party of slime. republicans are the party of stupid. they do not know how to be ruthless. you do not have to be back, you have to be tough. that is why romney got wet and mccain got w-- that is what romney got whipped and mccain

got whipped. democrats are going to destroy them because they do not have anything. we do not negotiate with the enemy. please comment. study,by way of a case let me reference the last presidential election. going into it, president obama newberry well he was going to lose millions of voters that had in 2008 because he had not been able to deliver on many promises he made. his presidency was a far different than what he had promised. doy realize what they had to was make sure those voters did not move over to the republican candidate, which you would expect when that kind of thing happens. they had to create a situation where voters would say it may be president obama has not done that great a job that he is better than this other guy.

they set out in the summer before that election to demonize republicans and demonize mitt romney in targeted states. a hole.d, they dug he did not respond. his reaction was nobody is going to believe that. people will believe it if you do not respond. i do not happen to think that conservatives or republicans tacticsse the dirty that the obama campaign used in this last election. i do think they have to be tough and get their message back out. talk and articulate their values. they have to respond to attacks and get the truth out there for voters to recognize. sometimes, voters do not get what they bargained for. that was true in the 2012

election. the narrative that the president put out with obamacare, for example, and other things, had little relation to what he intended to do. people voted for a candidate that was not really the candidate they got. in other places, they get what they voted for. if you are in that arena, it is tough and you have to make sure when they vote they know what they are choosing between. if they know that, i am confident conservatives will win. int: david keene, tweeting to you. what do you find objectionable about matt bevin? guest: i said i am a believer in primaries. i believe voters have every right to put up a wherever they want. i also said if i were in kentucky, i would go for mitch mcconnell.

i have nothing against his opponent. over the years, and now, has been a very tough senate leader dealing with and often weak hand. situation in the senate. although way back to campaign , he has stood up and fought for values we share. we get tired of anyone who has been around a long time. i think he has done a good job and deserves reelection. nothing against his opponent and nothing against a primary. it is support for a fellow i think has done a good job under adversarial circumstances. ohio, democrats line. caller: good morning. two questions.

out of all the speakers yesterday they did have one thing in common. hate, to use the word that very strong dislike for the president. they had rude and disrespectful and mean things they said. i was curious how you thought about what they said and do you support language such as some of the things they use yesterday about our president and the office. the second question is on conservative outrage. i hear you saying your language needs to change and the conservative movement needs to incorporate more people. i have got to say that actions speak louder than words. you can use whatever rhetoric you want, the policies actually need to support the people. host: thank you. anti-obama rhetoric and conservatives outreach.

guest: 38% of the american people approve of the way the president is handling his job. just for partisan reasons and substantive reasons, you can expect hard criticism of the way this administration has acted. post" factgton checker said the lie of the year last year it was the president suggesting if you wanted to keep your doctor, you could. this is a president who has dissembled. it is a president who has made runs around constitutional guarantees and has ended up in court. with of people are upset the way he acts. there was a democratic professor from george washington university who testified before

the senate recently. he said i agree with barack obama's policies. but i think he is endangering the constitutional structure that has allowed this country to be free for so long. we are nearing a tipping point in terms of the constitution because of his actions. those are strong words from a liberal democrat. you are going to expect that sort of thing. if you look at rhetoric and thisty and the way administration has acted, most of the policies it has adopted the been most harmful to groups that have supported this president most strongly. particularly minority groups. the unemployment rate among minority voters is much higher than it was in the past. -- everything from the minimum wage proposal that

will make it impossible to get started jobs. the regulations on banks will make it more difficult for people to realize their dream of homeownership. all kinds of things. , i understandr her partisan support for the president, that is fine. she needs to ask those questions about her party. it is not the republicans who have been claiming, as harry reid and the president have, that republicans are unpatriotic if they criticize the policies of this president. for david keene of "the washington times comes from the republican line, las vegas. romney would have won the election when he was having that debate. all he had to do was ask president obama when you got caught saying you would be more flexible about -- there's only

right or wrong or good or bad. hadad to be something that to do with putin. he had no answer. i would like you to investigate 90nklin raines, who got million dollars from fannie and freddie. the person who wrote the checks is still working for fannie and freddie. how did he get that $90 million for five years? if you want to put a stop to the democrats, there was a sitting congressman at the greta van sussman show. explosion andthe the gulf, isn't there an agency that oversees safety on these rigs. have some issues on the table. let's see what mr. keene would like to respond to. look at theu

president's performance and the performance of this administration. because of the focus that the american people usually have in bad economic times when we are trying to come out of a recession on domestic policy. the obama administration has completely failed internationally. not partly but completely. john bolton, the former u.s. ambassador, made the point at the bank yesterday -- john nolton, the former u ambassador made the point yesterday here that we cannot forget what is going on in the world. the u.s. trying to lead from behind has stepped back. he thinks that that leads to peace, it does not. the presidents who have used american troops less than any other president was ronald

reagan. he believed if the country it was strong the signal would be slear that this is an tyrant had to be careful and they were. you have this in ukraine and in asia with china going after islands, declaring sovereignty over parts of the ocean that they have no right to. you have people saying the u.s. has checked out. we reallyan do what have wanted to do and have not been able to do in the past. some focusing to be on the foreign policy of this administration as we go forward. it has been a disaster. host: wayne lapierre spoke yesterday at cpac. you served as president of the nra for a couple years. tweeting in. do you believe in majority rule because the majority of america wants background checks?

guest: depends how you ask the question. that is the thing about polls. at the nra, we represent not millio --.25 quarter who are the 5.25 people members but the people who vote on second amendment issues. we supported a reasonable background check bill. we were fearful it was a way to interfere and it would do nothing about crime or violence. it was a way to interfere with gun owners' rights. the way itrful that was constructed would allow the federal government to do what the justice department and the fbi and others have wanted for a long time. to establish a national gun registry. which is illegal in this country. the president suggested that by even saying that we were lying.

week before the election, the american civil liberties union came out and said we have examined this, the nra is right. thesenot need any more of kinds of registries. we have enough people keeping an eye on everybody else. the government should back off. we are proud of the fact that we at the nra opposed that so-called universal background check. the system in place is not working. it is a system that we have supported in the past. the government has not got it straightened out. most of the people that are buying firearms are not convicted felons or dangerously mentally ill, but false positives. a little bit like under the tsa when senator kennedy went to national airport and they tried to keep him from boarding a plane because he was on a database that said he was dangerous. they have not even fixed any of

these things within the national background check system. we do not think that adding to the burden of americans with a perfect right to exercise their second amendment rights, it would have no impact on crime but just to grow the government. it is not a good idea and we opposed it. , not juste realize legislators, when people realize what was in this legislation, what it would lead to. your callers mentioned of idea began toe crumble. when people know what it is a does not have majority support. host: john, independent line, from maine. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a hypothetical question for you.

are playing with fire. we continue going down the road we are going, there will not be any turning back. i want to ask how you feel about ralph nader, ron paul, and ross perot. there,ee of them got in things would be different. i will take my response off the air. guest: i assume what you are asking is my feeling about third-party candidates. they had every right to do that. the problem in the two-party system, the kind of system we i was to support somebody running as a third party conservative in the national election, that would in the liberal democrat national election. it would take votes away from the more moderate conservative running against him. the question is what do you want customer do you want to make a point?

you have every right to make that point. or do you want to try and move public policy and the way the country is governed in the way you believe it should be going? in the two-party system, what you need to do is in the final analysis after the primaries, support the coalition closest to your values. host: the front page of your paper this morning, mr. keene. returns to find gop without backbone. he serves on the acu board. he regrets that the gop does not have a backbone. guest: i think tom is reflecting the feeling of many people. that perhaps the republicans in congress could have done more. at least on the margins, to move

things in the right direction. the fights with the president, it is interesting that as a senator, president obama was all withvor of confrontation the president. including shutdowns if necessary. as president, he has refused to negotiate on anything. during the president -- the president who had the government shutdown the most times, jimmy carter with seven times under reagan, it was shut down five times. the fights were over missiles in europe and abortion policy. president, jimhe baker did a piece about how reagan handled this. he said the buck stops here. he got together with congressional leaders and work something out. this president, for political reasons, refused to negotiate with opponents. saying let's say if we cannot force this into a way that will

hurt republicans. on almosts backed off anything prior to the next election. if you have a president who does not believe in governing so much as running a campaign. if you have a president willing to risk anything by saying i will not negotiate on anything, remember health care. after saying he was going to talk with anybody, he would not include republicans in attracting -- in the drafting of it. the first major thing to pass without bipartisan support. if you have a president willing to do that, you have to find someway way to get the votes you need in congress to thwart it. strategic and tactical question. i am not sure it is a lack of act on. i am sure it is overly cautious anderms of operating

making challenges because of the nature of this president and his unwillingness to even talk with people he disagrees with. host: what is your take on john boehner? has had ahink boehner tough time. he has got a caucus that is very divided. he has members of the caucus who want to push harder than others. he has to try to pass things that will get some support in the senate. the republican house has passed dozens of really good bills. none of them have moved because the senate afford -- the senate thwarted every one. i would hate to be in his position. that is a tough job. host: democrat in oklahoma city. caller: hi. the republican party has been talking about shaping

their message and making sure they can supposedly reach out to minorities. sayke the fact that you what is on your mind. out of the heart of man the mouth speaks. in your attempts to sound like you are a legitimate individual who is looking out for the you-being of this country, have shown yourself to be no more than someone who lost -- who wants to push back all the policies who have helped people ities or whor fall under and income level. you are a corporate sponsored individual.

the new republican party is made up of 2 factions. for bigoratists business. and members of white the premises -- and members of white supremacist groups,. host: we have a lot of opinion on the table. guest: i love her, too. host: bill, republican in pennsylvania. caller: david, good morning. so glad to hear from you. i miss you at the nra. guns foren getting my 15 years. between my gun and my car, that is the only thing i am looking for in this country. i am a very -- i am a very goldwater boy. is this, we have

to stay away from religion and abortion. a very important thing for everybody. opinion -- whh at is the right thing for all the people. that is where we have to concentrate. to work on that basis. i guaranteed the republican party will come back. greece 50 years ago. it is a republican country. host: bill, thank you. , int: i would only say that a two-party system, each party .s a coalition of voters republicans successes and conservative successes -- the conservative movement has been this coalition from the very beginning. the conservative coalition

consists of economic free marketeers, people who believe in freedom and the free market and individual rights. people who believe in a strong national defense and a strongly protected country and people who believe in traditional values and religious conservatives. , when you'ret trying to put together a winning coalition, you don't want to drive anybody out of that coalition at shares most of your values. you remember ronald reagan says, anybody who agrees with me percent of the time i consider a friend. when a callert looks that coalition, he agrees with that 80% of the time. i'm not one who believes in driving people out of the coalition. i want to bring more people in. host: three minutes left. rory on our independent line. caller: good morning. i would like to ask if he agrees

with the 47% comment that mr. romney was caught on tape saying and whether he thinks it's all $250 for somebody worth taxesn paying less than a truck driver. guest: i think numbers often tell a story that is not as accurate as the people quoting the numbers might think. that 47% includes veterans and receive somee who government assistance or some government subsidies. it might be nice if we lived in a society where none of that was necessary or insisted that we don't. a lot of those people in that so-called 47% are people who are conservative and who would vote for a conservative republican candidate who articulates his

values well. so, no, although i don't think mitt romney meant it that way, it was a statement that obviously was incomplete and was used rather effectively to push them off into a corner. maybe warren buffet pays less taxes than a truck driver. what we need in this country is a tax code that is fair and and one that does not punish people for success. the president believes we should punish people for success. that hurts everybody. john kennedy, when he was an taxes andmplified use the line, "a rising tide lifts all boats. ." karen tweets and -- "as

whone who one -- has anyone -- that mes -- this is a straw poll of people who attended this conference on who they like. this time, there are a dozen or more names out there. there will be a dozen or more candidates. what might be important is the attendees'second or third choice. most of the people who attend this conference are ultimately pleased with the way the primary process and convention process works. just camejob numbers out. we want to get your reaction to this. the unemployment rate is still

at 6.7%. added in january. that? thatr take on beats the so-called expectations. guest: one of the reasons that we have been able to beat expectations is that more and more people continue to drop out of the workforce. peoplee are fewer working today as the percentage of the population then there have been in many years. so the unemployment rate is still high. it persists the actual unemployment rate if you counted these people differently -- if you included in it people who have stopped looking for a job or people who have accepted jobs way below the qualifications on the other -- the situation is a lot worse than people think this. graduates can get a job anywhere near what they

have trained for. we still have a serious problem in this country. the economy is growing very sluggishly. more sluggishly than it has after any previous recovery. that we are adding jobs. we are not adding nearly enough jobs. this has lasted far too long. host: opinion editor of the washington times -- the former president of the nra. a longtime chair of the american conservative union, which sponsors see pack, which is taking place this weekend in the washington area. worked at time, you the onshore hotel. why didn't you move to the national harbor? guest: too many people. the hotel in virginia could not hold the crowds so we moved to the shore, which we had done in

years before. then we moved to the marriott out there, which is a little bigger. then they cannot handle it, so now we are here. this is the largest facility in the area and it's the only facility in terms of a hotel that will handle this conference. the only other place we could hold it that would be at the convention center