parliament discuss a referendum declaring scotland's independence from the u.k. and then the results of a recent poll on how education is viewed in the u.s. ♪ our guessek on "q&a" is you as congressman charles rangel. he talks about his years in the house and his life before entering public office. he recently won the democratic primary in his new york city district. he has decide if he wins reelection, this will be his last term in congress. charlie wrangle back in 2007, you came out with a book. "and i haven't had a bad day since." have you had a bad day since

2007? >> not at all. not really. i have been blessed. >> korea was the issue back years ago. >> it was. there was a nightmare that i went through. on november 30, 1950 was surrounded by tens of thousands of chinese that came from nowhere. the indictment of the whole military policy in your korea -- in korea, we have 90% casualties. .eople were captured screaming rockets in the air. trumpets lowing. that you could imagine would scare the hell out of you, especially people being killed. and i just figured since we were trapped for three days and at night the chinese

would tell us and inquiries if we didn't end it, they would kill us. i told jesus and allah and anyone in english and latin, i prayed to jesus if you could hear my plea and get me out of this, you will have no problem with me after the war ends. when i truly realized how many of my friends and people i served with for a couple of years and how many people die unnecessarily and got to the point where i was spared, i didn't come to jesus, but i knew one thing -- that i could never complained about anything ever. that there must have been times, but no.

asave managed to in a way close as to anything to complain about. sound reason to say i can't afford to go back on my word. the perfect example was my brother. and brother and best friend. a smarter and better looking. -- everyone loved loved him. when god took him away when he was 52 years old, he had a young wife and kids. i was so bitter. i was just about to break my word when i could almost hear the person that was listening to me, how many people have ever had what you had? decided -- my mother was 94

years old. a healthy woman. a lovely woman. i didn't even come close to complaining. -- i wasted early thanking god i had her. it works so well. i tell anyone that if you want to have a better life and less stress, when you are about to complain about anything, even if it is just the weather, you just take a deep rack. all you have to do -- take a deep breath. all you have to do is think about the things you should be thanking god about and how lucky you are. it gets to the point where people say that i have a problem. i know it. the worst thing is not to know it. you are fortunate. >> do you know anybody today

that you were in the war with back in korea? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. most of them are dead. most of them are dead. when people say they knew me in korea and whatnot, 1950, i was 20 years old. i joined in 1948 with thousands of other volunteers who went into service. a lot of us knew each other truman,this was the first truman draft. if you went in for one year, you wouldn't have to be drafted. i dropped out of school and i for the money and all of these unpatriotic reasons i joined. a lot of us didn't realize how good it was. we were able to get discharged after one year and reenlist for three years.

when we went to washington, those people that didn't enlist for the three years, their term expired when you're here in 1950, they wouldn't be going to korea. they went back home untrained. on, they hadwent to fulfill that six-year commitment. it was one of the worst things to ever happen to send those kids to korea in a war that was not well planned and in a situation in which there was no excuse for and one might say a mightr like you -- you want to find out why general -- we fought our way up. we were sitting on the bullet of

manchuria on the northern border of north korea that is separated by a river. go overese were able to the river and come and surround us. that ir to make certain haven't had a bad day since, i cannot relive that massacre. it will be interesting for anyone to find out exactly why macarthur had a sitting up there for months as he was trying to persuade the president of the united states that we should go into china. >> you were 20 then and now you are 84. how different does the world look today? i have never compared each day -- i have never compared. each day is a changing day.

as a kid ihings never knew existed. youngsters that i talk with today to share with --m that i didn't even know when i was a kid. it is terrible when you had to go into the military. what is in the rest of the world? they allow minorities to get trained to go into the state department and into foreign service. that is something the whole country doesn't know about the rest of the world. when you see that is a key to find out how infinitesimal you are and how great the world is in how many cultures and colors and things that are there and the you represent and

representation of the hesitant estates, the same has to be true of a person who is born in a rural or urban area. i think a failure to understand , i failure of education cannot believe this is not a national priority. anyone who believes that the national security is dependent,totally they are out of it. duke reallyle the good in higher education, that of course has no bearing on abouty, we are charting -- we are fighting about charter schools. we can find a way to teach our

kids. this is -- we cannot find a way to teach our kids. this is absolutely ridiculous. there's no question that any child can overcome as many of the environmental problems that they face and guess what? and the classic example. when the army took me and allowed me to believe i was somebody out of the millions of kids just by exposing them to what is out there and you can come home with so much self esteem, of course with me and many others, when you realize that the military very seldom theyes you how to build -- teach you how to kill in a very desensitized weight. they tell you how to ignore your humanistic and terms of the life value as a relates to an enemy. they do a good job about it.

you could ask my son how easy it is for him to remember how superior you are when you are trained that way. when they are discharged and they sought -- find out that this transition training for civilian life and that the respect and honor that you can command in the military doesn't exist out here besides thank you for your service, what can i do to help? help?never what i do to did they train you to do anything decides to say that you serve? education means so much. you take the population of india and china and see how far they are moving. it is just a question of time

before. technology, education, the population. >> you have been in congress 22 terms and 44 years. .ou have just won the primary will that be your last term? >> yes. that i can fortunate plan a transition that is going to be in the best interest of my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and actually to be able to see the whole from and myy different light political addiction to it. >> let me show you some video from the night you won reelection. and you gottituents a little bit more than 22,000 votes. >> i don't know the numbers. >> your opponent came within three percentage points.

when you talk about democracy, what do you think? 22,000 people will put you back in congress? >> i don't think about it like that. it is like life and death. you can be in the middle. -- you cannot be in the middle. you are either in or out. you either got the job are you didn't. one thing that is exciting when you go into thank the voters for their support, he you don't hear anyone that voted against you. >> we will get your reaction. [cheers and applause] won! has [cheers and applause] ♪ "happy"]

♪ [cheers] >> thank you, thank you, thank you. [indiscernible] .hank you all ♪ >> anyway, thank you. where is my wife? i made so many promises to my wife and i have to start filling them. them.filling

♪ alva! alva! [laughter] calves, what is that about? >> there is a big controversy on which calves can pick up people -- cabs can pick up people. dangerous.be they decided since i was a working man's candidate and always has been, everyone asked me what to do. they think i know enough about everything. when they endorse me, it was very exciting. most of them were immigrants

from the same country that my opponent comes from. there was a big political asset. ya.ne can be against they were full of energy. you got into a cab and they wanted to know if you are registered to vote for rangel. >> how long you been married? >> over 50 years. that is one of the reasons i'm looking forward to the transition in these two years. already we are planning the honeymoon we never had. the things i could've done. i don't talk about it and, it just before the last election, the one before this, i wasn't too -- and went to the hospital for a minor procedure. with a viruscted in my spine that i didn't know

was life-threatening. nullity type of percent and the overabundance of self-esteem and the overabundance of self-esteem -- pain and nothing to be able to do about it. love andave me so much care, i couldn't see what my mother could've done better. i was so stripped of everything. i never really thought as much about her and the kids as i did in terms of that time. how could you have tolerated this? she says, i know we are married. i know your passion. i didn't want to interrupt

anything that made us the comment made you happy, and apparently you work at that -- made us happy, and made you happy, and apparently you were good at. what would you like to do? i couldn't remember ever doing that. i thought about all of the countries we have traveled to die never really knew. i was either doing political .ork or a congressional trip always dealing with the heads of state. i never saw the cultural parts that she did. we have decided to take very frequentp, but farmer and to decide -- and far more frequent and to decide -- we have darned good health. instead of going through periods of stress, we have just got to

be planning the next getaway. we started doing that locally. we went to new orleans. god, never knew people could be so friendly. , we spend all of the time of the world with voters. you look like you're registered voter. you cannot get rid of us. but just running up to people and just greeting them like they do, we don't do that in new york unless we believe you are a tourist. we don't treat each other the same way. in new orleans, it seems like they love themselves and their town and anybody. we went down there. everybody.oved caller: >> a -- >> explainer district. what is the disk -- explain your district.

what is the physical perimeter? >> it is the smallest geographic district in the country. because we have the same amount high-rises as states have spread out all over. when you come to my district, you could walk around. i extended beyond manhattan and new york county, you could walk around my district from the southern point of 90th street from river to river which was a small island and you can't go beyond that to the northern tip, which i would guess it would be about three or four miles. you could walk around the circumference of it. now they have drawn a map that goes up a strip of the bronx and explodes on the other end of it.

my district was created in 1940's in an effort to consolidate the harlem community that was basically colored and it became negro and now we are african-american. that hour was the very first public official to -- power was a very first public official to the u.s. congress from a black community in new york. adam powell was banned from the city of new york taste on a civil case -- based on a civil case based on accusations. he didn't come back for that trial.

an aust wasn't fair to b u.s. commerce meant for civil action and that he cannot come into his district except on sunday, which he came to church. me if youovernor told want him back, i will remove the back, myban to get him wife and i went down there and it was abundantly clear that he was not coming back home. the political vacuum that that adam had no competition. he had a whole lot of people. thought that the politicians were together.

i tried to explain it to him. , i have never made any money. i was in the u.s. attorney's office. i got a chance to go into private practice. i think we can see our way out of property -- property should i could be a state legislator -- i can see our way out of poverty. i could be a state legislator and my mom was born in new york. i just did not know the south like my grandparents did. havengton, d.c. practical purposes for me. i wasn't prepared to go south. i was scared to death. in any event, i succeeded with six candidates in the race. adam powell overwhelmingly lost, piling won -- but i only won by

500 votes. 'sce i got in, one of powell people had challenge me. sons -- hed his -- two sons fourth.as the >> one of them, the youngest one challenge me. he challenged me again. he was one of my strongest supporters or the seat -- for the seat this time. twos seat only had congressmen since 1946. >> i want to show you video of

adam powell. >> ok. [video clip] >> they call me black dignity. we are proud to be black. black is beautiful, baby. it is pretty. [laughter] brothers, baby, don't worry about the white chicks. we have everything. black is beautiful. black is beautiful. black power means to imitate. -- means dignity. it means we will walk side-by-side with you. with dignity and integrity. we don't want any more than you have or any less than half. -- than you have. [applause] >> what do you see there? idealee a person that was

self-esteemhe black that most folks in this country has had since slavery. kid, if you were to call someone "black" or "african," the whole thing was that this was a white country. adam powell was no exception to that. it wasn't until the united nations that young people were able to see on television people are black and beautiful. the criteria a beautiful had always been european beauty -- of beautiful had always been european beauty. the resident -- president was greeted by a black

mother and her son and the son looked up and said, good i rub your hair, mr. president? he looked up with pride said, mom, the president has hair just like mine. you cannot put into emotions what that means. malcolm x took it one step further. you should not be a shamed of the way you look. you should be proud. it depends on how far you have to go in order to get people to realize that god has given them the same genetic ability to do what anyone has done. as an opportunity. when i talk about education, i'm talking about releasing millions of people with potential from jails they wouldn't have been in it they had ability to do something positive.

country thatbout a really leaves they can go beyond where they are. .'m talking about immigration we shouldn't be afraid to say i know what i know in this country. let me see what you know and what you have got to bring to this country so we can be what? stronger than ever. i could never do what he has been able to do to look like he doesn't talk about black power. everyone knew exactly what he was talking about. i think you will take a particularly dark person to the members dining room in the house of representatives. -- can

>> two blacks in the congressmen and now there are 43. >> that is right. >> was there a whites only restroom? supposedly in his time there was or in the house. >> no. i don't think they said it. not have to say it. blacks avoided it and embarrassed themselves. the civil rights movement was revolutionary. martin luther king, two people who came here basically from africa has the equivalent of and now havengton an america to realize that we are one country whether you like it or not.

and that time, we had a court without bias that was able to vote even against what they believed if they believed it is what the authors of the closet to she wanted. the constitution wanted. and i cussed miles every step of the way because i never, never believed that lacks lacks be able to -- b would be able to vote. how could you put your life on the line that the depth of r acism in this country could be overcome with marches and civil disobedience and with a lack of violence and praying? do you think god is listening to you?

he says, no. what was it that motivated you to what your life on the line? he said the u.s. supreme court. thatid, i truly believed they had to do the right thing. do you still have that belief? he says, no, i don't. that is sad to believe that a this could vote against emotion because of the secrecy credness ofment -- sa the document. >> back in 1970, you were elected to congress for the first time. we have video of you walking down the street in harlem. let's watch. [video clip] >> eating a hotdog while walking in the streets.

>> i went to school across the street. i used to get my lunch at this place. i would get a sausage and a rogue bear. it was nickel. -- root beer. it was a nickel. [laughter] one of the big criticisms against adam powell is that he didn't really represent harlem. that he spent time elsewhere. >> i will spend my time in harlem. >> you're telling the people here that you're really going to represent them, but you're not one to let them down? >> that's right. >> [indiscernible] [laughter] >> that is really strange. i won the primary. i went back and walked the

street to thank the people for the confidence they had in me. when it comes to the question of almost hadwife and i a problem. she said when i proposed to her that i promised her we would retire in florida. i told her, used to do drink then, but not enough to drink to promised i would ever leave new york city to go into retirement or not. avenue -- i lenox to a new address on lenox avenue and that has been my whole life with the exception of when we lived in both places in washington and new york city. >> do you remember that walk? >> of course i do. when identified where it was, that was the street where i live now. barrel.d like a

i had no idea of the door of opportunities that would be open to me. >> you graduated from new york university. got your law degree from st. john's. but now, you will be the second-longest serving member of the house of representatives. john dingell's is retiring. did you ever think you would be spending that much time? .> no, no i never thought about anything n terms of -- i didn't talk about how many ears. i never thought about living

this long and certainly not keeping a job this long. i move on. and move on to something. i have never had to make a , legislativegal decision based on the politics. it.ver had to weigh i say now if congress is prepared to put american troops in harms way, let them be

prepared to include their families and their communities as well. there should be a draft attached to any consensus for the president to declare war should to contribute -- declare war. to contradict the be open about it and to say things about it into no my decisions would allow major i ever became a had to to -- mayor and wait what impact my position would be on this group or that group or what group i needed to get reelected -- my buddy in congress was one of the first endorsement for governor. to --inds me he was going

it was the right and to do. in his campaign, i was asserted for him upstate. people loved me. they liked me. some of them said if there were any other colored evil like me, they would welcome them to come back and they understood me. kid knew that any other could make it in this country. that therel my wife is so much to overcome in this country. i could make a contribution where i am. if i had to make decisions on where to go based on getting

, that is apeople conversation i remember never having to take. >> do you have an opponent in the fall? >> i have a couple. >> have you had many opponents in the fall? have they always been in the primary? districts.e many it is one of the problems we face as a nation. whether it is republican or democrat, when you win the election after you win the primary, it means that you don't really have to politically do what is in the best interest of the country. i think when you talk about the tea party, they fight their primaries. basicallyrom republican states.

that is another story for another time. to do what ishem in the national interest, they don't have to do it. that is why the republican party, they are not in trouble in the house of representatives now. getting reelection is not their problem. they are indeed trouble on the national level. they don't have a candidate acceptable to the tea party. -- acceptable to america whether republican or democrat. gerrymandering, which means that in state draw the lines which the state legislators run in and who is going to be there, that republicans concentrated not on national office, but on governance and state agitators. they have drawn more congressional lines. some are being challenged in the court.

it was purely for political reasons. the 60% minority in two different areas and when two seats, if you put them in one district, that means -- that type of thinking has existed on of howte level in terms they can manipulate the system. a lot of people don't know that when that republicans won over the majority of seats in the house of representatives, collectively the democrats had hundreds of thousands of votes than they did. ,ut the way they were split up

the republicans gained four seats. >> i want to go back to that night of your reelection in the primary and more video. a lot of people had watched this video. >> i have got to get a hold of this. [video clip] those whoto thank gave me the strength to even consider running for reelection. [indiscernible]

i want each of you to go home thato that this -- know this was your victory. you can rest assured all i will be doing is thinking about you. thank you. [indiscernible] thank you very much. thank you. >> that goes on. we will watch a little bit over here. doorman? jimmy the >> yeah. would go through the campaign and beta-2 for posterity. for posterity.

you forgot me, but you thanked jimmy the doorman. >> i was thinking, what happened to the separation of church and state? >> that is an interesting question. every religion has instructions tell you what you need to do to go to heaven. he said that he was denied all of these things. -- talking them out about the brothers and sisters -- i told the rabbi and the ministers, what do think we are up to in washington? what did think the health care

is about? education? peace and not war? aat about the extension of livable wage? every religion has it. there's no pursuit of happiness unless you can have some quality of life that we are dealing with. i would explain to them you have a moral obligation. that is what i'm talking about. what am i doing if it is not to improve the quality of life? andstronger by children constituents are, the stronger my country is. countriesw other

through the way we live these principles. it is the first bill we have ever had. in august, 50 heads of african countries talk about expansion of training in how we can help the united states and them. receding that, the president met with members of congress and the 500 african students that wanted to learn more about the united states of america and acquire those powers for economic and political reasons to take back by thehat should be run department of state.

that china the money is pouring into africa, it would mean nothing if they don't have the of the bulls that these young people are going to learn here and take a calm. that is one of the other programs that i started. when i first came into congress and went over seas, there were so few black members. everyone into the which commerce meant i worked for. now there are 43 of us. we were able to get so many young people to train and school soh the state department they can go into service. in our state department is representing overseas america as we are not restrictions that was put on them. >> here is the first beta we can find in our archives on c-span. this is from the floor of the house. [video clip] >> it seems to me somebody

somewhere recognizing that the leadership of this house said that no vote could be taken and they got together and said, isn't this the time to bring this issue to the floor? star if you my word want, but i know darn well that each one of you that is participating no said it is wrong to do something on such a vital and important issue to the country and the house of representatives. >> will the gentleman yield? >> i yield. >> eyes and he will acknowledge time after time and in the years that i have been here, the minority, the republicans, not given notice when things will be brought out. as a matter of fact, if i had not specifically asked the question about the legislation being passed through the agriculture coming up this tuesday, we wouldn't know that. >> you asked a question for the soul forces of determining whether any votes would be taken on monday and once the leadership told you that no votes would be taken, then you

said -- >> at the gentleman would yield -- other]g over each >> we have a right to make a statement also. >> that's what i thought. [laughter] >> that issue was african-american votes being counted. that is what you are talking about. when you look back at that, i think it has shifted since then and there public and took over the house. are you complaining about the same thing they are complaining about now? thing that the republicans have going for them is that they are the majority. as a democrat, i should take some joy in knowing that they

are so completely divided that they cannot move forward on anything. as an american, it makes me sad to see how such a small number of people could take advantage only of the majority. these arguments that we used to have, republicans and democrats, most of us want to do the right thing. we have different ways that we want to do it. when you find a group of people that controls the majority and says we will not do anything, our primary goal is to get rid of the guy that is president so no matter what he wants to do, we have to be against it, and they are prepared to destroy the reputation of the congress and the republican party, we don't have exchanges like this on the floor. for them to vote 52 times to try to repeal a law that has been sanctioned by that president and it has worked for the people and immigration laws that have to be

changed, that the structure loss are being debated. they don't want these things to be argued on the floor. they would rather sue the president or threaten impeachment to these emotional issues and none of which moves forward.ry -- people >> is opposition partly race? i have been requested not to talk about that too much. i think the reason for it is that it is just too darn obvious as to what it is all about. i think if you take a look and counties and with congressional districts in which areas of the u.s. have the most prejudiced, it would be the slaveholding states. it would be the confederate

states. it would be the states that fought the union. those that hated lincoln. if you look at it today, they have changed parties. they became tea party. the love and affection of .mbracing the confederate flag and a lot of attention was given to him. the fact that people can say we have got to take our country back and lawyers know it is not with the written word to determine what they really meant -- people said, please don't bring up that race thing anymore. >> who asked you? -- so i commented that. -- accomodated that.

people don't like talking about that. if the president was not black and was white, this animosity would not he directed at the president of the united states of america. i have people that say, why don't you just deal with getting something done positive? , if i knew making comment about racism in the u.s. would automatically change it, i would do it. dramatic change. yes, i did say it. and no, i wouldn't run away from my answer. i just won't be talking about it. i think it is clear and it is not my job to make it awkward. -- not to shatter

m-- [laughter] >> i wish i could answer that. i really wish i could. it is a very awkward question that you have asked. the president and i have talked about this. he has talked about my legislative record. main sponsor of the affordable care act. i was the chairman in getting it out. so much legislation has been supported by the democratic party and the country and the president. yet to talk after the election even though i have been in his company several

times and 10 to be even more. i would like to believe it is just as awkward for him as it is constituentsmy haven't had any problem with me in over 40 decades. that was long before he was even known. old issue.an it has got to be somewhere in your mind and ask you where you are on this issue now. [video clip] >> many of his body pledged four years ago to have the most open and honest congress in history. at the hearing, the nonpartisan committee has said clearly that the conduct of rangel shows sloppiness and that doesn't excuse his conduct. a bipartisan majority of the

committee concluded it was appropriate to recommend to the house that representative rangel be sanctioned. >> i do believe in the enforcement of these laws. or should be sanctions. should be sanctions. but if you're breaking new ground, i ask for fairness. none of the presidents of the history of this great country has anyone ever suffer the offense when the record is abundantly clear and never challenge that in those two years of investigations which i called for, the council and the committee found no evidence of corruption. >> how do you feel about that today? >> it is the same position. there is an explanation for it.

that is whenever any member of congress is facing an embarrassing question before your election and it reaches the point instead of talking about what you want to talk about, they're talking about this person that has been accused, whether they have given you work and she did it to your campaign uted to your campaign, as nancy pelosi told me, butlie, they love you, before this election, they love themselves better. the truth of the matter is if you listing clearly to me and to the so-called chair lady of the accused of noas crimes, violation of the laws, except the regulation that i -- thenot have solicited

city college of new york. bestdid it on stationary said the house of representatives, i did violate house rules. it was about two months old at that time. sloppiness in terms of not doing the proper reporting on one sheet, even though it was accurate on the other and there was no evidence of an attempt to hide anything because i called for an investigation on my own 20 years of public life. that there's no one in the house of representatives that can say i deserved to be sanctioned, but i also know that i would have a hard time is my election depended on defending during my election instead of saying what a great congressman im.

-- i am. how much did it cost you? >> oh, millions of dollars. with the lawlement firm based on the condition that i would not talk about this terms of the services during that period. >> you are debt free at this point? >> no. i am in the course of appeal notuse due process was included in the way this case went. it is clear that the constitution says that the house -- theysentative shows

had determined the conduct of its members whether it is right or wrong. it doesn't say you are entitled to due process. our lawyers believe when you draft the constitution which is based in due process, and it could not possibly exclude the fact that defending the rules for the house to determine the conduct of its members that due process should be included. we know we were right. we don't know whether we would be successful in the policy. it is clear the supreme court doesn't like getting it wrong in disputes with the legislative body no matter who they think is right or wrong. don't get involved in this. , 44 yeare rangel veteran of the house. thank you free time. for the interview.

♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> for free transcripts or to give us your comments on this q&a.org. visit us at coming up, his scottish parliament discussion on the upcoming independence referendum. and the results of a pole, american attitudes towards public education. later, another chance to see "q&a" with charles ringel of new york. british parliament