>> some of the speakers from the values voters summit. after that, another chance to see the congressional black caucus town hall. on the next washington journal, frederick of the carnegie endowment will discuss the u.s. led military campaign against isis. and the long-term goal of just reading -- defeating extremist violence. and the latest domestic violence controversies in the nfl. will take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. on c-span.0 a.m. >> the family research county valuets ninth annual

voters summit in washington dc. yesterday's session included tony perkins. there was also a panel of former members of the military who are critical of president obama's foreign policy. this is just over one hour. [applause] ♪ >> good morning. thank you. thank you very much. good morning. on behalf of the family research council, we welcome you to the ninth annual values voters summit. we welcome folks from across the country tuning in by television and the web.

the next three days are designed to equip you to redouble your efforts to take our country back. announce we have a strategy. . [applause] we will continue building a conservative coalition, a winning team, that despite occasional setbacks the last six years, we will never surrender andhe forces of state-ism political correctness. [applause] every day that

conservatives are on the wrong side of history. that we want to turn back the clock. i see it differently. we stand for what the clock cannot measure. for that which is timeless and eternal. they have heralded an age of oning --y well champi in order to stifle their opponent in the political arena, they are even ready to rewrite and limit the first amendment of the constitution. goesthey propose doing what they haveth succeeded in doing in the civic center. they have attacked a gifted individuals, everywhere from chick-fil-a to go you debt -- ga

tarring andrsity, feathering them for daring to disagree. there was a smattering of leftist groups, many of them funded by george soros, who took out an ad calling on elect officials to refuse to speak to you, the values voters. these are the same groups that support harry reid in his efforts to rewrite the first amendment. >> the truth stands in their way as they seek to fundamentally transform america. they want to silence you and millions of americans like you. here is the difference between the left and right. we welcome the debate. we support their right to speak. we believe in the first amendment. in fact, many in this room have put on the net -- put on the

of our nations military to defend their right to speak. it is not time to rethink our principles or shrink from conflict. now is the time to reaffirm our beliefs and redouble our efforts and to stand for the values that made america an exceptional nation. president, america has been an exceptional nation, but in so doing, we must renew our mutual respect and reaffirm the necessity of each component of true conservatism. a free and growing economy, and national defense that is second to none, and traditional values are indispensable and mutually reinforcing. what unites us as conservatives is we understand the meaning of liberty and the price that generation after generation has paid for it.

we understand that your replaceable role of character and the human drama. we understand the dangers of government while growing larger while growing ever hungrier and even more jealous of any institution that rivals or diminishes its influence. we will defend the american dream. future.define the thank you for being here and for being a part of the values voters summit and for being a part of taking our nation back. for,ca is worth fighting and we will stand for the truth. i am so excited to introduce to you our first speaker of the 2014 values voters summit. this is a guy who keeps me glued to c-span every time he is on. aybe it's because he is

two-time ncaa division i wrestling champion. he knows a few moves. i have watched him. congressman jim jordan represents ohio's fourth congressional district, and he sits on the house oversight and government reform committee. you have probably seen him several times grilled the irs commissioner on the disappearance of lois lerner's e-mails. as a member of the important select committee on benghazi, he asked, "what is it going to take for the state department to put in place the practices that are going to save american lives?" i am so glad that we have men and women like him on capitol hill working hard to get answers and to get justice for the american people. ,lease welcome my good friend congressman jim jordan of ohio. [laughter]

{applause] >> good to be with you. you have had to listen to me a few times out -- at this wonderful event. -- a longa long, co. time ago that good things don't just happen. if you want to complete something of significance, it takes work, sacrifice, and most importantly, a willingness to get off the sidelines and get in the game. thank you for accepting the risk that is associated with getting in the game. you are always going to get criticized. all kinds ofd things by the mainstream elite national press. it is par for the course. i love the line thomas has when he talks about how normal people see things and the way "the new york times sees things -- "when

your times" -- "the new york times" sees things. when you think about the institutions that the good lord put together, the very first institution wasn't the church were the state. it was moms and dads and kids. [applause] the strength of that institution ultimately determines the strength of your entire culture, your entire society, and our great country. it is a special organization near and dear to my heart. tony has been doing an outstanding job leading that when i get done with this speech. i'm flying to ohio. tostart the drive to georgia see our second grandchild, catherine grace -- [applause]

today, and weeks old we are looking to spending the weekend -- looking forward to spending the weekend with them. some bad news, good news. tell me if i'm wrong. i'm convinced that today the average family, the average middle-class family thinks this town is completely rigged against them. they see bailouts for corporations. they see handouts for people who are unable -- who are able but unwilling to work. they are fed up with it. they see companies cozy up to government. companies cozy up to government and get special tax treatment. if you are in the favorite admin -- industry of the administration, the green energy industry, you get all kinds of loan guarantees and special breaks from the government. seven of the 10 wealthiest counties are where? right in the washington, d.c. area. the average family thinks the game is rigged against them, and

they are stuck paying the tab. i would agree with them. iny are looking for folks washington to stand up for their values. [applause] is, they favorite lines pitcher for the dodgers, won the world series -- he said, great things can happen to ordinary people who are willing to work hard and never give up. i liked that statement mostly because of one word -- ordinary. if you stop and think about it, we are all ordinary people. nobody is better than anybody else. one of the things that bugs me is when somebody thinks they're special. we are all ordinary people, all in need of god's grace. the amazing thing about this nation is ordinary people have been able to do extraordinary things if they are willing to work hard and never quit. today, for the first time in american history, lots of

middle-class families are doubting the accuracy of that statement, and they are looking for people to stand up and fight for them. there are folks in the house of representatives doing that. hopefully, we are going to have a few more folks in the senate. i think it's going to happen. [applause] i think we are going to take back those succeeds. that will help us begin to frame things. it is worse than what i just described. it is not just that your money gets used for things you don't like. it is also your fundamental values and the liberties you cherish, your freedoms are under attack. your firstk about amendment liberty, religious freedom -- thank goodness the decision was 5-4, but it was only 5-4, the hobby lobby decision. your second amendment rights are under attack. those things are under attack by this administration.

tony referred to this in his introduction. there is no better example of your freedoms being attacked in with the internal revenue service did for a sustained time where it systematically targeted people like us for exercising your fundamental rights, your right to free speech. this is why i've been so focused on this issue. it cuts to what america is about. if you think about the first amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, but your most fundamental right is your right to speak and to speak in a political nature against her government, to petition your government, and that is what this administration set out to systematically do, target and harass people. it is as wrong as it gets. i want to walk you through how serious is was. remember in 2010 when the president at the state of being address called out the supreme court for the citizens united decision? that is when it began.

the presidentr, was saying things about shadow we tea party groups, folks just like you. it was not just the president. it was all kinds of democratic leaders. dick durbin and chuck schumer. they were saying things like, irs, you have to do something about this. this is 2010. you know what happened to that election, right? we said to heck with nancy pelosi. this goes on for that entire year. rner gives a speech at duke university in october of 2010 weeks before the election. in that speech, she says, after -- everybody is after us to do something now. who is the everybody? it's not everybody -- everybody is the president and her

political heroes, democrat senators who were calling on the irs to do something. what is the "now"? before the election. one of the e-mails we got from her, she says, we can't fix it now, but next year we are going to launch a project. we have to be careful and make sure it doesn't look political. that's what they did. they've denied it all along. we started hearing from conservative groups who were being targeted. we brought lois lerner in. 2012t down with her in after this have been going on for a while but haven't become public. we confronted her. she said, no, this is the normal course of doing business. frankly, we didn't believe her. we call for the inspector general to do an investigation, which they did. the event commissioner said, i

can give assurances there is a marketing the inspector general found that wasn't the case. the irs got a draft report before it went public. lois lerner, before the report goes public, gives a speech to the bar association meeting here in town and has a friend plant a question to ask her about this situation. she blames, doesn't take responsible to for it, blames people in cincinnati. two rogue agents in cincinnati. the fact is they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and we are trying to hold them accountable. they have tried every excuse. going after the inspector general saying his report was not accurate. the truth is, they did it. really gethey cannot a real investigation from the justice department.

lois lerner this week was willing to talk to the press. she can talk to the press. she can talk to the justice department. she can't ask the questions -- answer the questions the american people have. unbelievable. the reason she is willing to do the is because she knows justice department's investigation is a sham. january 13 of this year, the fbi leaks to "the wall street journal" no one is going to be prosecuted. the president made his famous statement -- the head of the executive branch prejudge is the entire case and says, there is no corruption, not even a smidgen. the lead attorney assigned to a maxed out contributor to the president's campaign, and we are supposed to believe this is a real investigation? eric holder can't go fast enough. [applause]

here is some good news. we did pass a resolution calling for a special prosecutor. i don't think eric holder is going to do it. maybe the next ag will. the good news is every single republican in the house of representatives voted for it. more importantly, 26 democrats went against their president and said, this is so egregious, so wrong -- [applause] i think things are starting to move in the right direction. i think we are going to see it in a few weeks when the party i belong to takes back the senate and we set the context for what is going to happen in 2016. let me finish with this. i have's folk all over the country. one of the things i sense is the left wants you to think you are in the minority. there are millions of people just like you all over the country who are during what -- who are doing what i said earlier.

risen ton has always the occasion. polly and i have been traveling. we were driving the triangle over easter weekend, and we were coming across route 88 across illinois. driving. i'm half asleep in the passenger seat. we are driving, and she sees a illinois,says, dixon, hometown of ronald reagan. she whipped to the car off the road. i said, what are we doing? she said, we are going to reagan's boyhood home. town,ll into this little and one straight off the main drag is a reagan street. suchaw what made this guy a great leader, his humble beginnings in the values he possessed and how he was able to articulate what made our country special. if your rubber -- you are ever

driving through there, do it. they take you on a tour with the local historical society. what is you back to truly great about this country. i may have shared this with you. it is a story that stuck with me. a couple years ago, we had some friends capturing the kind of -- we had reagan had some friends a few years ago, summertime, two summers ago, call us up, and they wanted to go to dinner. we had the evening free. we said, we will go down. they said, before we go to dinner, we are going up to her the right brothers home. we said, sure, we would like that. the house we live in was built in 1837. obviously, we would love to do that. it's the same kind of thing. historical society. you go all the way through it, and the last room they take you to -- it is one of the brothers

andoom/it's the last room, in this last room they show you two pictures. the first picture is that first flight, kitty hawk,, 1903. if flulike 101 feet. -- it flew like 101 feet. you are like, i remember that from school. the next picture they fold up, 44 years later, 1947, chuck yaeger breaking the sound barrier. think about that. this kit -- this country with people just like you, in 44 years, they flew in a contraption called a plane, then check jager -- chuck yaeger breaking the sound barrier. they put that picture down. it literally hit me. i'm like, we are in ohio.

i represent new knoxville ohio. why did they stop their? later, 1969, another ohioan stepped on the moon. bes country, in 66 years, to -- two guys flying 100 feet, putting a man on the moon. it is truly the greatest nation ever. [applause] there is no policy, no crazy thing that this administration can do that we can't overcome if we are willing to remember the values that made us special in the first place. there is an attitude that has always characterized this nation . it is best summed up in my favorite scripture verse. paul is writing to timothy, the older guy giving advice to the younger guy -- he says, fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith. it is a verse of action, a verse

associated with america. we have always been a nation associated with action. when it looks tough, when the obstacle is big, we rise to the occasion. we fight, we finished, and we keep faith in the values that made this country special. that is why this organization is so important and what you are doing is so critical to our great country remaining the greatest nation in history. god bless you, and have a great day. ♪ >> great job. folks, pray for this man. he is on the cutting edge of this battle in washington, d.c., doing a fantastic job. if you don't think this crisis with isis and some of these other terrorist groups is a threat to the united states of america, let me remind you that the twin towers and our pentagon

were attacked and brought down by 19 terrorists. here to talk more about that and some other issues making headlines, including benghazi, isis, we have assembled a panel of leading experts to discuss these issues, which includes three generals with seven stars between them. panel is moderate our lieutenant general jerry boykin. [applause] he was one of the original members of the u.s. army's delta force and commanded the army's green berets. he serves as executive vice president of the family research council. as these men come to the stage, would you not just welcome them but would you also them -- thank them for their service to the united states of america? [applause]

>> thank you all. thank you very much. please be seated. my name is jerry boykin, and as you know, tony perkins is a marine. i normally start with presentations with a marine joke. having said that, general conway is a retired commandant of the marine corps. i'm going to skip that part of it out of fear for my life. we are going to go right into it. i know we all as americans are very concerned about what we see today unfolding across the globe with the chaos that we see, with the evil that is rising up in so many places around the world, and particularly what we see in the middle east. i have asked our three panelists

to make a very brief opening statement, and as our time permits, we will ask them specific questions. our first panelist today is really an man who has been a supporter of the family research council for a long time. he is a representative from the 11th district of north carolina, congressman mark meadows. we have at least one tar heel out there. he actually grew up in a military family. his father was an army officer. he was born in france and eventually moved back to florida , but he started a small business. he has run the business for 27 years. he has an extensive resume. what you need to know is he is a freshman in congress. he will be back next term for his second term in congress. he is one of our staunchest allies and supporters. he is the man who worked with

tony perkins to be able to bring this woman that is going to come tomorrow night to be honored, miriam abraham, he was right there involved in bringing her back. [applause] my favorite marine who actually used to be my neighbor in fort myers, virginia -- just so you know, i'm not going to use any multisyllabic words. you are on the panel today. i'm going to be very careful. this is a soldier's soldier, so to speak. he came into the marine corps in 1970. he came from southeast missouri state university, into the marine corps, and infantry alternately rising to the calendar. you need to know he has commanded at every level in the marine corps. this is the guy who commanded the u.s. marine troops, the first expeditionary element at

the battle of falluja in 2003. [applause] an old and dear a minister not only in his own right, but also a prolific author, major general retired bob dees. bob has written three books. one is called "the resilient warriors." bob was a west point graduated in 1972. she went on to command the second infantry division, and for those of you who have a great passion for israel, as i do, bob actually commanded a task force called the combined task force for missile defense in israel from 2000-2002. he has been a great friend.

he and his wife have resettled in texas. in your case, i don't know what you've been smiling down there in the plains of texas. i'm going to give you a break today if you use some words we don't understand. [laughter] that said, i would like to start with general conway who has to leave us a little early for another event he is doing at the hotel. i'm going to ask him to make an opening statement. >> thank you for the nice introduction. my mother would be happy. a mother-in-law would still be skeptical. that's another story. [laughter] i apologize for having to leave early. i think it's going to be a great session. the chinese have an old expression -- may you always live in interesting times. i think we are there. got to cover quickly, we've turmoil in the middle east times with -- of course in syria

the fight taking place there, the establishment of a caliphate , which has always been the islamic extremists' grand strategy, moving east. you have a situation in iraq that hopefully will get better in the near term, as the new government starts to take shape, as they revitalize their army, include the kurds who are pretty tough guys, and our old friends, the sunni tribal leadership, have a direct conflict that is going to open up with isis. isis is going to attempt to consolidate this caliphate. they are going to come into contact with the sunnis in anbar province. time is an issue. just firther west, is a

real problem for us in many ways, but not least is the nuclear issue. we should not lose sight on that in my mind. if i were still advising the president, i would have to elements of advice for him on need theme, we don't with what we are going to do in the middle east. we are powerful enough to do it without them, and to involve them only makes us look weaker and them stronger. please don't do that, mr. president. [applause] the second thing is, don't lose sight of the long-term objective to make sure that iran does not one day possess a nuclear weapon. it would cause tremendous instability in that region of the world. they are seen as the major power already. to have them have nuclear weapons is going to cause weapons to proliferate in countries like egypt and turkey. we just don't need that. , in my mind, vladimir

putin is a dangerous man. we are all products of our experience, but his experience when the wall came down was that he was a lieutenant colonel in the kgb. for most of the rest of us, it was the introduction of a new world order. for him, it was abject defeat. where he in a position believes he needs to do something about that. narcissistic, which makes them unpredictable, but he also has the advantage of location. there is one nation under face of the earth that could destroy us tonight, and that his mother russia. i think his intent to poke us in the eye at every chance he has -- if you move to the pacific and china, china concerns me. there is little history of major trading partners actually come into conflict, and yet in the case of china, it concerns me

for the long-term. part of that is because the most bombastic people in china, with their newfound military and power projection capability, are their admirals and generals. -- itly if a politician is a politician. in this case, it is the admirals and generals. the last time we saw that, folks, was pre-world war ii japan. i will finish with these thoughts. there are a lot of challenges out there that require u.s. leadership. some of these issues exist because of a vacuum that our absence of leadership has caused in the past. again, we need to be in a leading role in virtually all of these with our partners and allies, and to do that, we need a strong department of defense that is able to respond. thank you.

>> thank you, general conway. [applause] congressman meadows? >> i will keep it brief. we need to be a country that means what we say and says what we mean. it is time that we quit apologizing for america's greatness and start celebrating. [applause] we have a national security risk . the general said it well. right now, we've taken our eye off the ball because of what is happening with isis and the horrid fix things that have been isorted, but a nuclear iran the greatest national security threat that we face not only for us but for israel. what we must do is stand up to that. this morning, there were reports coming out of the state department that we need to meet iran halfway.

meeting iran halfway is a major mistake, and it is something we must not stand for. i'm going to close with this. foreign-policy that truly makes a clear objective of what we stand for and what we will tolerate and what we will not tolerate. teddy roosevelt said, walk softly and carry a big stick. walks softly and gives a good speech. we need to make sure that we stand with the men and women who fight and protect our country and honor them in their service. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. general dees? >> thank you, and i think that is a very good strategic overview by general conway. sir, thank you for the call to action and the clarity. you are saying that deterrence is important. that would be my first comment. walk softly and carry a big

stick is all about deterrence. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. we have an expression in the army that says, strategy eats tactics for breakfast. what we are doing in syria and a few other places is tactical reflex responses rather than a strategic broad perspective that state thats an end is worthwhile and discernible. i'm going to make four points. if you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it. we must be clear about the threats. we have talked about a number of different threats. i will identify three additional threats with a laser focus. first of all, before the obama administration, it was called global war on terror. inis global, our military is 100 nations-plus around the world, and they are not twiddling their thumbs.

they are resisting evil in a lot of forms. it is partly rooted in this islamic fundamental terrorism. global war, it is a war, and it is terrorism. let's call it what it is. let's be sure we know what we are aiming at. [applause] we have a lot of external threats. that is the primary one because it is like a cancer. the two other threats that i would identify briefly is our internal apathy, it's a national security issue. more people like you need to stand up to be counted. the third one is that we have been infiltrated. the enemy is within. 9/11, a fewafter days later, to check out the intelligence, and in about 30 seconds, i saw the deal. i saw liquid displays on this

dome. it showed cell phone calls coming from afghanistan going to places like new york, north carolina, nashville, dearborn. these are all islamic sanctuaries in the united states within which there are fundamentalist sleeper cells. all of those calls lit up, and in 30 seconds, i saw we had been infiltrated. we can talk more about that, but we have to figure out how to observe national security inside our borders. international affairs and domestic affairs are inseparable. you have heard talk of the tree of liberty that is fed by the blood of patriots. the tree of liberty is not just on the international side or on the domestic side. it is both. within our country, we have a present of -- a pervasive culture of appeasement.

on the domestic side, it looks like entitlements. it looks like catering to special interest groups. it looks like catering to our illegal immigrants and not securing our border. that is what appeasement domestically looks like. internationally, we know about neville chamberlain, and we continue to appease today. we appease iran. we appease red lines we make and break. those are our three threats. i think it is critical that we recognize this enemy and we deal our domestic situation, our moral erosion, our own infiltration are part and parcel to our national security. exceptionalism -- we are an exceptional nation. if you drive around washington, d.c., you say, look at all of the grantor, but if you go to moscow or beijing, you see the same grandeur. thethat grandeur hides

murders of hundreds of people. it hides totalitarianism. ist makes america different not the grantor. america has itself a soul. [applause] we are an exceptional nation. finally, so what? i will be brief. of whatschaeffer said, shall we live? it says, if foundations are destroyed, what shall righteous men and women do? you are the righteous. we have to stand up to be counted. i would say it is a great time to be alive. spirit,ave a warriors it is a great time to be alive. let's get to business. [applause] >> thank you very much.

thank you all. i'm going to go to general conway. really dedicate his life to this whole issue of national security. he speaks about it. he's working with an organization called securing america's future energy. i wanted to give you an opportunity to speak about the criticality in terms of national security of our energy resources. i would argue, it is not just national security. you can make the case its international security if you look at what is happening with russia and ukraine and the leverage proven -- putin is exhibiting. is not as, folks, it

bad as it was. at one point, we were importing 60% of our total petroleum requirements. of that 60%, a large portion goes to transportation, and our transportation industry, the cars you and i drive, and more importantly, the trucks that go over the road -- it requires 92% petroleum products. my concern is that the diversification is not there. this year, we will import about 30% of that requirement. the countries that are controlling this global market, which is by no means a free market -- we have a free market in this country, but the global market is very much contrived and controlled largely by inions in opec who then, many ways, control our destiny -- our islamic extremist enemies says they will defeat us

eventually not in the field, but they will destroy our economies through control or manipulation of this oil supply. we consider it a national security issue. our production in recent years is better. it gives us more of a buffer if there is a fire at a refinery or bad weather. we don't see prices jerked up like they used to. we cannot achieve oil independence simply through our own production. it is too small. it goes to the global market. the answer is more supply and demand. we've got to do more drilling, in my mind. we've got opened up areas. at the same time, we need to develop alternative energy sources that will reduce that requirement, the 92% we rely on so much, not by investing in companies. that has been tried and failed. but through investing in national laboratories, university laboratories that can

come up with products that can go to the funeral of her -- to the free market in america. >> thank you very much, general conway. congressman? meadows, would you talk to us for a minute about our southern border and how you see that being an issue of national security? do you think that we've been infiltrated with anything other than workers or people here to sell marijuana or cocaine? is there anything else that has come across the border? what is your assessment? >> our southern border needs to certainly be secured. 9000 younge, some people came across the border. it made national headlines. all of us saw that. we were somehow shocked and surprised that that was happening.

yet it made national news because we were taking those kids, and we were bussing them all over the united face to take care of them -- the united states to take care of them. that is a problem. the bigger problem is a national security problem. if we have isis and other terrorist groups -- hezbollah is all over latin america. they have active groups in colombia and panama. to have that open border allows the terrorists to be among us. for many of you -- i'm from north carolina -- if many of you think you live in relative peace, and you don't know what happening because you don't see the threat, but i can tell you north carolina -- not only greenville, north carolina, but we have convicted in charlotte, north carolina a hezbollah cell. that wasn't enough. they came back, and they said

what they were going to do was kill the prosecutor. they were going to blow up the courthouse. you can find out all about it. for us to think that an open southern border is a secure , the tragedy is going to be when the headlines is when one of these terrorist groups takes advantage of us. we've got to address it. [applause] >> thank you. general dees, let me ask you a question i didn't prep you for. i like messing with you because we are old friends. [laughter] would you please talk to us about the current state of our military? that is a very serious national security issue. can we rise to the occasion? are we prepared to defend this nation against the threat that we see on the horizon, that our

intelligence community tells us to be focused on? >> my assessment is that our military has been at war for over a decade, and if you think about the general's time in the military, we have been in this global war on terror, as well as everything else going on, since 1979, 1980. yesterday, i was at fort meade. i was with folks who have been deployed seven years out of the last 10 years. they are digging deep. they are digging deeply into their well of courage. well ofletes their courage the most is that they ,eel perhaps a lack of support a lack of coherence from their commander-in-chief and national strategies. our military people have committed themselves to serve and die. that is the contractor they have signed. the thing that really takes the wind out of their sales is if

they think they might not be utilized in the proper way or if the commander-in-chief does not have the backbone to stay the course. that is a problem. isther issue i would mention that for the troops in the foxholes, faith makes a difference. when they are getting ready to go on a dangerous patrol in afghanistan or iraq, they will hold hands and say, god, you are our rock. they are not worried about political correctness when they are getting ready to take artillery. when you get inside the beltway of washington, d.c., we have a lot of political correct games that are being played that simply nearer our culture. many of you are culture warriors day in and day out. those same games afflict our military. they take from their well of courage. they reduce our readiness.

our military, if committed to clear and noble causes, will perform admirably. we are still the best military in the world. i may make a comment later, when we are outsourcing the jv ratherask to a than employing the american varsity, we are doing the right things. -- aren't doing the right things. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, general. congressman, let me turn to you and ask you for your personal assessment on the concept of arming and equipping the free syrian army. what are your thoughts on that? >> anytime that you look at putting men and women in harms way, it is probably the toughest vote you will ever take.

recently, we made a vote in the house to do just that. i was one of the ones that voted no. [applause] -- you haveit was to ask yourself a few questions. dollars billions of troops, onlyqi to see them turn and run when isis came in. benghazi libyans who were supposed to be helping with the security of the consulate, and yet, what happened? we know all too well. four daead americans. we are in the process of training 5000-6000 syrians who are supposed to take on a battle tested army of close to 40,000. somehow, we think that these

5000 syrians are going to be able to do the job. the general said it best. we have the best fighting men and women and national security team in the world, and yet what we are doing is we are putting it out for bid with syrians somewhere else. for me, that was very troubling, and it is not something i believe will have a clear strategy for success. something that i know we will be having to come back and address again. >> thank you very much. general, same question. >> i totally subscribe to what the congressman joe said. is, in syria, we don't know what we don't know. intelligence is a very critical commodity. i found that you can get a lot of troops and soldiers hurt

badly if you don't have the right intelligence. develop this intelligence framework that will serve us well in area -- in syria. as we employ surgical forces, not massive troops, but as we employ surgical techniques with boots on the ground, that is the way we can quickly make their day with isis in syria. that is the way to avoid not produce casualties, which this long slog will do. i will use this as a bit of a segue -- we have greater priorities in the region. i'm very concerned that the united states continues to sound an uncertain trumpet about support of the nation of israel. [applause] just a brief vginet -- i was in

israel as part of my duties, and i was pulled out of bed one night. they had taken down a ship trying to infiltrate the gaza strip. it had high-technology. they would drop these containers that would flow 10 feet under the water. fishermen would come from the gaza strip and take it into underground caves. the next day, they would be shooting them towards israel. -- reason they will me up woke me up was because israel called the state department and said, we have this issue, and our state department said, you guys are hyping it. go back to sleep. that illustrates the culture that permeates our state department at present and at that time. we need to be very clear about our support of the nation of israel. if israel goes down, we all go down. israel are god's people. it is a moral issue as well as a ethical issue -- practical

issue. [applause] me make a statement. i want to reinforce and support with the congressman said. i want to thank you for voting no. there are people in here that believe that the right way to go is to arm and equip this thing called the free syrian army. there are some things you need to think about and understand. we will just have to disagree on this, on the prudence of this, but you need to understand there are no redeeming features to assad. you know what he's never done? he has never been a threat to christians. when you look at the realities of what is happening to the christian communities in egypt and syria and iraq and libya and all of these islamic countries, the reality is he has never been a threat to christians.

he has never been a threat to israel. other than rhetoric, he has never made any serious attempts to invade israel and get the golan heights. when we start talking about arming and equipping 5000 people we have invented, we need to reflect on the fact that we did this in other places like afghanistan and iraq, and many of those people that had been vetted turned on us and killed our troops. why would we invest more blood and treasure in arming and equipping people that we don't know ultimately they are going to do with the arms and equipment? in the case of the iraq army, they have given there is to isis, the very people we are now trying to stop. we are trying to destroy american made equipment we left in the hands of the iraq he army getarmy. if you can iraqi ar i don't call

themmy. iraqi army. i call them isil. said, we really need to get beyond the motion of it and think in terms of, what is the practical side of arming and equipping these people? we already know that there has been a pact made with isis, a nonaggression pact made with isis. i know senator mccain has denied that, but my sources say it is absolutely true. i will go to the congressman. i want to ask you another question. we have yet to have accountability on benghazi. what is your assessment of what the long-term impact of never getting to the answers on benghazi?

what is the long-term impact of that? how does that affect us as a nation and as a society if we don't do the right? >> if we don't get to the bottom of it, and i believe we will -- my good friend, trey gowdy -- [applause] patriot.rue read,less of what you may he is not political. what he wants to do is make sure that the american people get the truth, and that we hold those who are responsible responsible. thean be very thankful that chairman is over that. we will get to the bottom of it. in the meantime, when the truth does not come out, we repeat the mistakes of the past. we are starting to see that right now with this strategy we have, or the non-strategy we have with regards to addressing

the terrorist groups that are trying to kill americans and our allies everyday. the other part of that is that when we start to look at a false narrative that comes from our government, it undermines the very trust that we have in those that are elected, in our overall government operations, and all of the american people -- all the american people want is the truth. if we know that the truth always prevails, it will ultimately come out, but if we do not come if we suppress it, whether it is , whatere the irs ultimately happens is we continue to undermine the credibility. we create a more unstable situation. i have great hope that justice will prevail and that chairman county will get to the bottom of it. >> thank you very much.

general, same question. >> thank you, congressman. i would gain altitude just a second. about spiritual infrastructure as an element of national power. one of the elements of that infrastructure of the united states of america is the proper ,etention of national history instead of historical revisionism to fit a convenient narrative. [applause] the historical revisionism that we see with benghazi is revisionism we've seen across our country, across and even in the common core curriculum, for instance, of the obama administration. let's change the truth. in war, truth is the first

specialty. let's change the truth to fit our liberal agenda, objectives, and we see it happening right. we have got to resist that stringently and tell what happened the way it happened. [applause] >> ok, thank you. we are down to three minutes left. i will go to the congressman and ask for a brief assessment of the strategy that has been laid out by our president to deal with this threat of isis. >> well, there is not a strategy. [laughter] i think even he admitted he didn't have one. there is a real desire on the part of almost all americans to make sure that we deal with it. the threat is real. it is a threat against american interests and against the american people. yet what we need to do is to make sure that we have a clear,

decisive objective, one that is strategic and focused. if we do not have that. that, we have a lot of dollar spent, billions of dollars that will be spent in the camouflage of doing something to protect the national interest. people in the state department who say that our greatest national security threat is climate change, you've got an issue. how ridiculous is that when you have our fighting men and women -- they say, it's chilly, maybe today's the day we need to worry about climate change. it's ridiculous. >> thank you, congressman. what strategy would be the question. i would offer that we are in a complex environment.

the reality is complexity requires strategy, whether you are in business or any endeavor to deploy national power. we are playing chess, not checkers. our administration needs to recognize that. thank you. >> i'm going to close us out. some of you may have seen it. i was asked last week to do judge jeanine's program. i went to a studio in atlanta. the question came up -- how can we put 3000 troops on the ground so quickly to fight ebola when we can't come up with a strategy to deal with isis? here is my answer. america, we got what we asked for. as president is thinking like a community organizer, not a commander-in-chief that takes the lives and the futures of his soldiers, sailors, airmen, and

marines seriously. we have a community organizer who has surrounded himself with people that know everything about climate change, everything about marxism, everything about the lgbt agenda, but virtually nothing about national security. to hisnwilling to listen real professionals, the military professionals, because he doesn't trust them. they represent something he has never been able to understand, and that is a love for america. may god bless you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> great job! next, a congressional black caucus discussion on voting and the midterm elections. after that, another chance to see some of the speakers from

the family research council's values voters summit. then a phoenix the a medical center town hall on veterans health care. tomorrow, our campaign 2014 coverage continues with a debate between the iowa senate candidates, democratic congressman bruce braley and republican state senator joni ernst. at 6:00live tomorrow p.m. eastern on c-span. our campaign 2014 debate coverage continues live on c-span. tuesday night at 9:00, for the final texas governors debate between state senator wendy davis and state attorney general republican greg abbott, and live on thursday, the oklahoma governors debate between democrat joe dorman and republican mary fallin. also at 8:00, watched the nebraska governors debate.

>> the congressional black caucus held its annual legislative conference in washington dc this week. ,almer president for the naacp and at thes, come midterm elections, new voter id laws, and the impacts on the african-american vote. [applause] >> good morning. it is an honor to be here with this distinguished panel, with the leadership of the foundation.

it is an honor and pleasure to be here with each and every one of you. we are about to hear a presentation, and exchange of ideas, about something so fundamental, the right to vote. i will be brief. dr. king said one of the most significant steps we could take is a short walk to the voting booth. that is what we all have to do in the election. a few weeks ago we had the privilege of bestowing the congressional gold medal. it was so remarkable because it was so overdue, but also because of the very same time we were appealing to our colleagues to pass a bipartisan voting rights act to correct the shelby decision.

that has still not happened but we must make it happen. in order to make it happen, we himin order to make it happen, we all must vote. as i said, it is a privilege to be here. to accept the invitation of the congressional black caucus foundation. another privilege i had more than year ago was standing on the steps with the congressional black caucus >> members of cbc on the steps of the supreme court. they were there calling upon the court to make the right decision. that very day we were meeting in the house of representatives to dedicate the statue of rosa parks. it seems are strange, dedicating a statute to rosa parks, people turn out in a bipartisan way to salute her, and yet we have to appeal to the court to do the right thing. when they don't, they sing the praises of dr. martin luther

king but don't pass the voting rights act. we have important work to do. we have important people doing it. the distinguished chair of the foundation has been working for children, for cities, for the american people. he is a great leader. marcia fudge a very strong leader and fighter for opportunity for all in our country. taking the lead on fighting for food stamps and the rest in a very tough battle, but who better than she to lead. our ranking -- assistant leaders, a champion on the vote in writing act. they are working so hard to get that pass. our chama and -- chairman working very hard to make sure to set the record straight as some in congress would be consommé on the attack of president barack obama.

art ranking -- our ranking member of the homeland security committee, keep americans safe. our distinct chair looking out for consumers and our financial system so that it is fair to everyone. all this talk we have heard about science, technology, math, she is the chair of the science and technology committee. the congressional black caucus has provided such tremendous leadership to our country. we will have a new -- following up when his important work for young people. this caucus is making a valuable contribution to our country, even some who are not chairs of the caucus, emmanuel cleaver and congresswoman clay, they were there in ferguson and they made us also proud as a represented

us in a way that was appropriate and respectful of the very serious nature of what happened there. they, along with john lewis, the conscious of the congress, he was part of that. so much needs to be done. the word conjures up so much that needs to be done. voting rights act, freeing people so they have the right to vote with respect to who they are.

i thank jeff johnson for his leadership. so many people who are making today possible. as i said, it is an honor for me to be here to salute the members of the congressional black caucus led by marcia fudge. how about those fellows that we met? how about that some of those publishers were named for donald payne >> that beautiful lovely man and chairman stokes. the tradition goes on. education, which is key to the fulfillment of the junk people, which is also necessary to keep america number one. i leave you with one thought, one way we hope to turn out a big vote in all communities and the vote in the congressional black caucus leadership community is so important is what jeff said, keeping good

jobs, jumpstarting the middle class, investing in education to keep america number one. that means we have to invest heavily in colleges as well as reduce the cost of loans. [applause] a very important part of it to the community is when women succeed, america succeeds. that is how we are going to turn out a big vote. thank you for the honor of having a chance to say a few words. good luck in your deliberation. we all all caps in on you. -- we are all counting on you. the success of this caucus is the success of our country. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you congresswoman. she said it right.

the panel we are getting ready to go into is going to cover ambitiously three key areas. one, the state of the african-american vote moving into 2014, the necessity to look at both voting and law enforcement reform as it relates to policy, where we are going and how the black vote of effects of us socioeconomically. that is a lot to cover in a short amount of time, but we have a brilliant panel that is going to do that. i am going to be introducing folks that are in the audience every now and again good you know how we are. we got to do shout outs.

congresswoman beatty said that i am no stranger to the congressional black caucus. if i could take a point of personal privilege, it is not just for me about supporting the jobs to her of the congressional black caucus, or getting on the road to be able to support different members in certain parts of the country. it is that before me, when i was a senior -- senior in high school, there was a woman by the name of stephanie tubbs jones, she came into my high school government class and blew me away. i said to myself that i need to work for her. i asked my teacher if i could walk her to her car as she was leaving the classroom. i said to her at that time, prosecutor doug jones, you are going to hire me. anybody that knows her knows that look, like what you talking about, i don't know you.

she said, are you a lawyer? >> i said, no. x he said, i only hire lawyers. you have a file room were those files appear cheese at yes. you need somebody to get files or lawyers in a file room. she said you're funny. come see me on monday. she hired me in the file room of the county prosecutor's office in cleveland, ohio. that set up a trajectory for me to be where i am. we talk about honoring those that come before, and stephanie tubbs jones was one of the most powerful black women that we have seen in the halls of congress. on days like today, i remember her so much and want the letter of. it is my honor and privilege to introduce those are will lead us in our discussion today. please hold your applause till the end. wade henderson is president and ceo and the leadership conference education fund. a tireless civil rights leader, he is a member of the bar in colombia and the united states of in court. elaine r. jones was the first female president, a legal

powerhouse who was elected to the american bar association board of governors in 1989. the first african-american to do so. president clinton presented her with a eleanor roosevelt human rights award. john lewis was elected to congress in 1986 and represents georgia. the civil rights leader was a a member of the march on washington. he also received the presidential medal of freedom. barbara r. arnwine president and executive director otherwise committee for civil rights. a graduate of duke university law school. she continues to campaign for civil rights and sable justice issues. -- civil justice issues. she specializes in housing and lending, community developing, and pointed, voting rights, education, and environment of justice. xavier becerra is a former deputy attorney general of the

california apartment of justice who was first elected to the house of representatives in 1992. he is a member of the congressional hispanic caucus where he served as chaired in the hundreds and that congress. he is also a member of the executive committee of the congressional asian pacific american caucus. last but certainly not least, a leader who i met while i was working in that file room in cleveland, ohio. [laughter] she was chief of staff at that time to energy is a non-believable public service from my home state, representing the 11th congressional district in such an unbelievable way, she chairs the congressional black caucus and is continuing on every single level to be an unbelievable freedom fighter, even as she is a powerful it is later. ladies and gentlemen,

representative marcia fudge. [applause] now, i have to ask an unbelievable favor. as we are a dressing these three major themes of the state of the black vote, the necessity to look at reform of voting and law enforcement policy, and how the voting is affecting american -- african-american socioeconomically. 92 to be mindful that this panel in's today -- i need to remind you that this panel in today. i need to remind you to be sure any responses. we will have a great panel. i would like to start with representative lewis if i can. congressman lewis, is there

clearly an impact that recent legislation in particular, and civil -- supreme court cases have had on voting rights and voting rights for african-americans. what have the last two years done for the african-american electorate. more importantly, if there was one thing we all need to be doing moving into november, what is that one thing? >> more than anything else is the decision of the united states supreme court and local, state officials across america. not just in the southern states. they have made a deliberate effort to take us back to another period. we must stand up and fight and push. we must go to the polls and vote

like we never voted before. our vote is precious. it is sacred. it controls everything that we do. everything. as a minority, whether it be black, latino, asian-american, native american, or whether we are right, we must understand that 50 years ago, this year, three young men that i knew gave their lives trying to make it possible for all our citizens to become dissidents in a democratic process. we want to respond to ferguson, you have to vote. it is powerful. we must do it. if not, we will go back. >> many in this room have been consistent engaged to make sure that we are registered in the votes are educated, and making sure there is robust efforts. as we are looking at what happened with the supreme court decision, do we continue to

fight for federal voter laws or do we more focus on state laws that we are losing in many cases all over the country? is it at both and proposition question mark -- proposition? is it due to lack a lack of resources, even when we has some federal protection? >> let me say two things. first off, let me say thank you. he is a little modest. when he came to work in the prosecutor's office, he was a world-class track athlete. he was not only bright, he was doing all the right things, the things we want our young people to do. i thank you. as it relates to -- it's not an either or. when we were kids, we would say i can walk into bubblegum at the same times. we can.

if we don't, we make a huge mistake. the reason we are in the shape we are in, is because of redistricting. we lost the state houses. if we had not lost the state houses, we would be in a better position today. that is the thing people need to understand. we know that we need to vote. and we know why we need to vote. let me say a few things, if i may. believe it or not, they are going to file articles of a pitchman against our president -- articles of impeachment against our president great if we don't bow, your street when i get the experience if you don't bow, we will have hungry german across his country. we have to understand that this election is about us. it is not about the people who are running.

it is about the policies that we need to be supporting. if you don't vote, i would say you are selfish and saar. people need to go out and vote. -- selfish and sorry. [applause] >> to congresswoman fudge is point, we can walk into gum at the same time. even those of us who are inside the political bubble are looking around -- i hear conversation every day about the need to secure the seats in the house and potentially moves and seats forward. i hear about securing the senate and ensuring that immigrants stay on the front in their, for those earthling party politics. i don't hear the same level of fervor and enthusiasm about down ballot candidates that will drastically affect the quality of life in states all over the country. as we talk about walking and chewing gum at the same time, how can we ensure that we are doing the kind of work that leads people to the polls, that pushed for the kind of

represented as we want in the house and senate, but not at the cost of poorly educating folks on those down ballot seats, many of whom still have an opportunity to win certain states? >> let me say thank you for being here and allowing me to be with these great leaders here. to the point, i think that marcia fudge hit it on the money there. what we find that is after 2000 and eight -- 2008, when the black vote at their set historic numbers, republicans went on the offense and said, we have to stop this. they have been playing offense for the last four years. they have been going after that vote, not by trying to persuade, by not making a possible to vote. we have to stop playing defense. we are fighting the supreme court decision.

we are fighting to change laws of state and federal levels. we should do is take the offense. i don't think you're going to take the offense only if you concentrate on the federal or local level. you have to do both. jeff, i think the response here is we have to teach our young folks that voting is a right. it is not just a right, it is a right of passage. if you don't vote, you will to learn how to drive? it is a right of passage. you have to show me that you deserve to drive that car. you want to be a man? you want to be a leader question mark you would be a woman leading this country question mark you have to show me that you know the importance of voting. it is a right of passage for our young folks to vote. we have to teach them.

i don't think it makes any difference if the city council seat or if it's a congressional seat orchids for the president the united states. our young folks have to understand the value of voting for that little town hall, city council person or the president united states. when we knew that -- do that, when these anti-voters want to push us, we will be on the offense and we will win. >> thank you. barbara, i am concerned. i hear and agree, but as someone who has worked at the naacp, american way, even worked at the pop-culture side to engage young voters, i hear the language of voting being important, and i hear specifically during targeted periods, but if we are talking about offense. in many cases the enemy that we are fighting never takes a day off. when do we move beyond this notion that fighting for the vote starts and innings somewhere around the time campaigning starts. whether it is our churches, civic organizations, our

leadership, begin to have messages and movement that don't turn on and off. that we engage funders so that funders are only funding during the year's -- periods -- utterly create a movement that is larger, more comprehensive, and more 360 than we have seen in several decades? >> thank you for that question. >> i figured you would like that. >> listen everyone, boating has to be -- voting has to be 365 days a year. it cannot only be about showing up for an election, although that is key, the guys that is a you manifest it. if you don't give a gift on christmas, you know what happens. we know that for every one of us who knows that november 4 is the

election day that for other people have no idea, not a clue. not a clue. our duty is to create the massive microphone to get the word out to every single person we know. my mother is 83 years old. she will be on the phone calling everybody in our family and asking them if they are registered, because registration is going to start cutting off for some states as early as october 7. it is very important that we get that word out. she is going to be on the phone calling all of my family saying, you better get ready.

you have to get to those polls. we have to do that. we don't do that just by talking. i want to make sure that everybody here knows that we come here today to bring you tools to help you do that. the lawyers committee, the leadership conference, the naacp, all of us work together. the national coalition for black civic dissipation plate we put out toolkits that every community group can use good we have a new when it just comes out. another one for you voters. i want to make sure that those toolkits talk about not only registering the vote, what is going on the local communities, that they also talk about making sure that people stay engaged, because the problem is the reason people don't want to go

to the polls is because they get disgusted putting people in office who don't do what they were promised to do. they get angry that they are not making sure their children are having the best education. they get upset when the mayor is not holding the police force accountable. >> let me interject. >> that's why we have to make sure we hold people accountable and that we engage in this process all the time. >> i think you make a great point. thank you ray much. thank you very much. we throughout the word account of early all the time. why aren't we holding mayors accountable? why aren't we holding state legislatures accountable? in cities that have 2000 churches, very few of those members attend city council meetings. in places where we have active organizations, a lot of times they don't show up at the state

legislature. my question is, how do we begin to better engage folks to do what barber is talking about on a consistent basis? >> it is a great question. i am honored to be here. i am honored to be a part of this conversation. very important. voting is the length of democracy. if you don't vote, you don't count. number two, voting should be a non-partisan issue. the truth is partisanship, particularly a corrosive, toxic partisanship, it has subverted

the right to vote and democracy as we know it. i want to give just a brief history lesson of why this issue is important, ok? i would say about how. when president obama was elected in 2008, he shattered every record about voter turnout of participation. in north carolina you had a huge turnout of african-americans. in virginia, indiana, it was mind blowing. the night he won the 2000 and eight election, robert draper documented an event that took place in our -- washington where many came together to talk about how to regain power and subvert president obama's legislative agenda. that was on the night of his inaugural ball. in september, 2009, an of skier congressman from south carolina by the name of joe wilson, who was attending a joint session of the house and senate, yelled out during a presidential address, you lie. it was an attack on the presidency and an attack on

president obama. he was rewarded with a nine point victory and a war chest of untold proportions generated by what he did. in march, 2010, tea party activists came to town and spit on congressman emanuel cleaver. they threw racial epithets at john lewis and other members and argued that this was really a free exercise of the right to express their views. i mention all of this for the following reasons. this is a concerted effort to subvert the president's agenda. it began on the night of his first election. the failure on the part of black voters to respond in 2010, as we responded in 2000 and eight, cost us everything. we lost both state houses, control of our ability to set the site agenda, and we're still paying the price. >> what do we do?

i would love it if we put up a slide that shows some the black voter turnout between 2010 and 2012. my concern is about the house. really quickly. we talk about the electorate and what the electorate didn't do, but a lot of times i did not see resources, infrastructure, organization and large part pushing to ensure that that turnout was going to be at the same level. >> advocacy in the black community, organizing the electric are scarce. -- organizing the electorate, or scarce. be real. we know that your vote is always sought election time.

there is no infrastructure on the part of the national party to support organizing in the black community. i am not here in a policy mode. i'm not here to bestow one party or another. i'm saying our interest should determine how we cast our vote. in the event we don't vote, we are ultimately harmed. here's the connection. when you look at the states that have failed to provide medicaid assistance under the generous provisions of the obamacare bill. it is an inducement to have states join the medicaid debate. most the people who are affected by medicaid are poor people, black people, white people, latinos. the states that are denying them that right are largely in the south. the truth is we can't get

healthcare and we desperately need it and our vote will determine whether that is carried out. >> let me do this. >> yeah. >> i would like you come in and for you to deal with the how. because i'm curious about how because i think everything that wade brought up was poignant. but i'm interested in for those of us that are in cincinnati orthos that are in indianapolis, or in pittsburgh or oakland, wherever they may be, how do we begin to see 365-day engagement in a voter process that creates a culture of civic engagement, not just an activity of voting? >> may i say something to that? >> yes, ma'am. >> yes. we need to be half as good as our forefathers and foremothers. we just need to be half as good. >> my goodness. >> they didn't have a degree. they didn't have college graduation. they didn't have high school. but i'm telling you, when black men first got the right to vote in 1870, black women didn't get it until 50 years later, 1920, but in 1870, those brothers five

years out of slavery, five years out of slavery with the new holes in the hats and the little turn over shoes and their little collars wrapped themselves around the polls for 25 years. they didn't miss a vote! and they elected 24 black men to the congress. by themselves. because they didn't need to be educated. they didn't need that. they understood that. they elected 24 black people to congress. the powers this be have always understood the promise and the strength of the black vote if it is exercised. in our hands we have the seed of our own liberation. >> amen.

>> and we do not use it. now, have to talk about what gets us out there? what we can do? what the organization, we got our day for barack obama in 2008. >> big time. >> what did that? we got out there because what we do, we vote for people. we don't vote for issues. and in barack obama we had the issue and the person combined so we could come out. >> that's right. >> you remove the african american president, state level, federal level, it is all connected. we get myopia, we can't see anything. we don't educate ourselves as to what is going on in our communities. ferguson, missouri is an abomination.

6% and 7% black vote? -- 67% population and 6% voter turnout? it is no wonder you got any on the police force. so we have been fighting for the right to vote and to hold on to the vote ever since we first got it in 1870. it is nothing new. it has always been under attack. when it the supreme court decide they were going to review the voting rights act case? three days after obama was elected in 2012. >> okay. >> three days! so i mean we -- we -- the foundations don't fund it. all right, they don't fund it. the people don't organize. all right, we not organized. >> that's right. >> is our individual duty to self-educate? >> yes, yes.

>> self-educate. >> yes. [applause] >> yep. >> it is our duty to organize and educate others and it is local. >> yes. >> it begins at home. everybody. the community meetings. the school board. >> yes. >> black people should be known as the most politically active. >> active. >> active folk in this nation. >> in the country when they look at us and we are over 18, they ought to automatically know that we are voters. >> thank you so much. elaine, what i need you to do next time, i need to hear more passion. you are not passionate enough. we need a little more energy. >> oh! oh! >> i loved it.

>> all right, my sister. >> congresswoman fudge, and i know you have to transition, but i have a sticky question. and i know normally you can deal with sticky questions and wade brought up something that i think is important. >> i did. >> and that is that often times even democrats treat the african american community like baseball fans who only watch the world series. they just show up in october. >> that's right, that's right. >> and so how do we begin? because i think elaine really dealt with the fact that there is several internal issues that we need to deal with. >> yes. >> if we are going to mobilize. there also is support issues from those who we support. and so how do we engage the democratic party in a more effective way of supporting candidates that we can see have a chance of winning but don't get broader support?

and, this unbelievable infrastructure, some of which people in this room represent of people that work in the political space and are always brought into meetings to give free advice, but never hired. >> yes. >> as consultants. >> well -- >> within this electoral infrastructure. >> all right. >> jeff, the answer is really easy. self-preservation is human nature. >> um-h'm. >> and so when they have finally realized that 45% of the vote of the democratic party is minority, then they pay attention. >> um-h'm. >> when they realize that they want to hold the senate and realize that in louisiana they need our vote and it is 30% of the vote in louisiana, 30% of the people in louisiana are black people. alabama, almost the same. in georgia, almost the same. in north carolina, almost the same. i was in arkansas on monday -- i mean sunday -- arkansas, only 15%, but in a close race 15% is a lot of votes.

>> it is a difference. >> now that they realize that not only they need us like they always needed us, come on, black folk, come out here and support the democratic party, once they realize we make a difference we went to them and said you want us, we are players in this game. right now the dscc is getting ready to spend $67 million in seven states. guess who is going to get some of that money now? we going to get some of that money now. >> i hope so. >> the d.n.c. supported our sunday effort. we hit almost 3,000 churches last sunday to talk about getting out the vote. i think it is just important that you have to make people do what is right sometimes. we expect them to do what is right, but see we expected that of the masses, too. we expected them to -- of the masters, too. we expected them to take care of us because we were worth something and had some value. sometimes you have to make them do it.

and now we are making them do it. because if they don't, then they lose. i tell you what, my life ain't going to change a whole lot personally, but what will change is my neighbors when their kids can't eat or when they can't keep a roof over their head. we are saying to the democratic party, all three houses of the democratic party, you better pay attention to us because if you don't, everybody loses. if we win, everybody wins. if we lose, everybody loses when black folk don't vote. >> thank you. >> and at this time we are going to shift gears a little bit, and i want to talk about what is on a lot of people's minds, many of you have seen in the last 24 hours that people were in the streets in ferguson. >> yes. >> that there is conversation right now about protesters blocking the st. louis cardinals game as they go into the playoffs. but there is also right now a video that was released of the john crawford shooting. >> yes. >> in ohio. >> yes.

>> in a wal-mart where it was said he was -- the police stated he was a gun-wielding individual, but it was a gun that was sold in wal-mart that he was getting ready to buy. i think as many of us said because we had heard about the video that there was no warning, that the police didn't identify themselves. he was shot from behind the first time. he was killed from what they believe was a second shot. and so ferguson is an example of what is happening in cities all over the country that either no one catches on video or it doesn't bubble to the surface. i would like to, barbara, if you could chime in first to deal with -- and actually if i can pause for a second, congressman lewis, if you could chime in. because the issues as to the militarization of local police, the policies as it relates to what the rules for accepted force are. more importantly and what communities are concerned with,

how do we create policy that hold police accountable in substantive ways versus superficial ways so we don't continue to see people that shoot someone and tomorrow they are back on the street or on paid leave? >> that's right, um-h'm, um-h'm. >> i think it is important. i think it is a must that we become organized all across america with the ability and the capacity to speak up and not wait until there is an incident. during the 1960's we didn't have a website. we didn't know anything about the internet. facebook? we didn't have a fax machine. >> that's right. >> we had the old mimeo graph machine. many of the communities are just too darn white. we need to make some noise. organize and organize. we have to use the vote, yes. but we have to organize dissident campaigns. before there was a sit-in, a freedom right, a march, we

steadied and prepared ourselves. >> that was my next question to you. because i get concerned when i hear elders sometimes talk about the lack of engagement of young people but there isn't a real historical analysis of the fact that your generation got trained and you couldn't be on the frontlines if you weren't trained or you couldn't be at a lunch counter you weren't trained. >> before the freedom ride. we were trained before we boarded a bus to travel from washington, d.c. to new orleans. >> and you all weren't using some sophisticated multimillion dollar funded institution. >> no. >> i'm interested in knowing how those working with young people or college students moving them to address the issues of the vote or address the issues of police brutality what are the ways to do the training? >> recruit a cadre of young people.

gifted, yes. smart, yes. but the average joes and prepare them to be prepared stand up and speak up and organize the unorganized and be prepared to mobilize. i want to go back to just one little point. the vote. if you want to change ferguson or other places, we got to use the vote. it is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have on the democratic society and if we fail to use it we will go backwards. >> congressman becerra. elaine talked about something that was critical. in so many cases people of color vote for people first and issues second. i don't often see candidate incubators looking for young

talent outside of the party system. i'm not sure about the work that you are doing, it but how do we begin to, and i don't mean just brilliant college students, i'm talking about young ones to be philosophyed and on the block and connected to a politic platform because they care about something. and then we have the ability to talk them and pull them in. what are ways that we create candidate incubators and electoral incubators so we are seeing a different feeder of folks woulding no the school board and state leg or mayor's races. >> you look at people and they say i tried to find a good person of minority background but they are not out this or they don't come to me.

i'm the chairman of the democratic caucus. the majority of my staff on the democratic caucus are people are color and women and i had no trouble finding any of them and they are as talented as anybody out there. >> that's right. >> and so you just got to push the envelope. you can't let people get away with the excuse. but jeff, i -- i agree but not completely with the nose that we vote based on -- with the notion that we vote based on the person. i think we vote based on our existential ability to survive. when ferguson occurred, i think people said that is me. when the civil rights movement got strong, people said that is me. and that is when people came out. then what happened was you had success, we saw that we got the civil rights act passed. we saw that we got the voting rights act passed and we said we got what we were looking for. and we got complacent. and we sat and we didn't teach the next generation the john lewises of the world to be ready for the next time.

it is coming up all of the time and ferguson is just oneexample. it is hard to teach an dog new tricks. we have to -- an old dog new tricks. it is tough to change bad habits. we got to teach our young folks never to have those bad habit. if we don't put some of our own money and skin in the game on voter reg, not just on whether the parties will do it for us pulpit our own money we will never fully get there. the parties will only do it every year there is an election. we need it to be done every year of that child's life so when they turn 18 it is just like getting a driver's license, when you turn 18 you go out and vote because it is a rite of passage. >> let me build on what xavier just said, when i listen to mr. lewis and wade and elaine and we hear the passion and talk about our history, what happens is we get comfortable. let me spoke to the younger folks in the audience because what mr. lewis said was they were trained. they were trained because they felt the conviction and it

affected them. so my message to our resolve is whether you are on the more mature end of this audience, when you get that corner corporate office, you remember that there is somebody that needs to be in the fileroom. and when you get there with all of your credentials, you have to remember that there is someone your contemporary. what i'm saying is you get the one person in the corporate office or at the highest level and they don't bring people along. and so then we emulate when our young folks come along they emulate what our leaders in those environments are doing because we like all of the attention on us. when mr. lewis and everybody was marching, it was never about him.

it was about the cause. when 22 black women, 101 years ago, had the courage to convince a president of the united states to let them be the only women of color to march in the women's suffrage march. it wasn't about them. it was about the cause. so, i agree on the people, but it is always about the cause. so this forum, you are in here for free. you will attend things late in the evening for free. so everything you have for free, you then write a check back to the cause. >> all right. >> whether it is to the naacp, whether it is to the caucus that you prefer but there are no free rides. mr. louis and all of his contemporaries they didn't ask anybody for a dime to feed them. they didn't ask anybody to get them a bus ticket to get on the bus.

when rosa parks created the modern civil rights movement for one year black folks didn't get on a bus. could you imagine today if joyce beatty said to you stand with this group and walk for a week what would happen? we have to go old school. and lastly that is why we are doing this panel because we stand on the shoulders of someone. you stand on the shoulders of of someone. >> that's right. >> it is time for us to give a shoulder for our young folks can stand on. thank you. >> thank you. >> barbara, if i can -- because i think that there is -- if you ask somebody walk with you for a week, if i remember so much of what made the bus boycott so brilliant was it was just started with one day. what we are seeing in ferguson that i'm pleased about is we are seeing young and old people alike on the ground that aren't

waiting for anybody to come back. >> that's right. >> that aren't waiting for a national leader to come in. that aren't waiting for someone to tell them how to do it and there is continuity that we are starting to see. when are the issues, if you will, on the policy side as it relates to police brutality that helped turn the needle? is it civilian review boards? is it blocking federal funding? what are the things that people should be looking for from a policy piece so when they are going to the polls they know what to look for by way of ways to end this at the local level? >> thank you so much. first of all, i want everyone to know that there is a unified statement that has been put out by at least 15 civil rights organizations on ferguson reforms, on police reforms nationwide. and i wanted to be -- i want it to be very clear that this is not a letter talking about we abhor and we are so annoyed and disgusted and angry. this is a letter that says federal governments, state

governments, local governments, do these 14 things and we won't be burying our children. do you know in august alone police shot and killed over a hundred people? this is not a moment as reverend yearwood says, that it is about a movement, that is the work of our generation. this is the work that we have to get done. i want you to know that you can become a signatory to this statement. you can get copies of the statement. some of them are outside of this hall, they are also at booth number 230 in the exhibit hall. and i want you to sign up. i want you go to lawyerscommittee.org and become a signatory. but also, what i wanted to say

is that to all of the questions you have been asking, jeff, the beauty of the moment that we sit in, let's not miss where we are right now in this moment and where we are going in the future. i want to give a shout out to all of my young brothers and sisters who created handsupdontshoot.org. i want to give a out out to all of my brothers and sisters, black lives matter. i want to give a shout out because those brothers and sisters have done it with no dimes. they got on buses and figured out how to get from new york to ferguson. gotten on buses and figured out how to get from florida to whatever. they have done it. i want us to be clear that we have a youth generation that is

like generation x and all of the others using their talents. you know, darnell moore and charleen caruthers and phillip agnew and the brothers and is sisters that are standing up because they understand this is not just an issue about black men, it is an issue about black boys, it is an issue about black women and black girls. my god, two days after the shooting of mike brown, police shot and killed in phoenix, arizona michelle couseau who was 50 years old, mentally disabled, had a hammer in her hand and they decided to shoot her 20 times. the community was so disgusted that 300 people marched with her casket and took it to the city hall and put it in the middle of

the rotunda in the lobby. let's be very clear that everywhere in this country black people are rising up. that we are standing up and saying no more killings of our people but we need, we need these systematic and institutional reforms. we need to dig deep and fight to make sure that the change happens. that i'm not sitting here on the panel next year talking about the latest people they shot and killed. no.

my brothers and sisters we can stop this by getting the racial guidance passed. by getting the funding taken away from the departments that have histories and clearly are engaging in police brutality. we can change this by making all of the places wear the cameras to the true story gets out. by having dash cams on police cars. by forcing people to keep statistics on who is being shot and killed. by making simple changes who is in fact employed. by having community civilian review boards that are role. that are powerful and can subpoena and punish and have the ability to have community policing instead of broken windows that makes it racial profiling legal. these are the things that we got to do. listen, i stand here because you know that my family was invaded by a s.w.a.t. team. came into my home at 5:00 at night. you think ferguson had some military gear? please, they came in with night goggles. i kept saying turn on the lights, you are going to kill some of my people. turn on the lights but they wanted to play with their night going toes, their shield, all --

night goggles and the shields and they held us under armed guard for three hours while they "executed a search warrant that they couldn't produce. these are the realities. we need to be clear about the moment that we are in. i don't want us to ever forget, jeff, that as black kin that we black lives matter, hands up, don't shoot. we created those organizations. we can create the organizations that you are talking about. that we need to have a 365ion you know, day review on what is going on politically and at our local, state and federal level. that we can hold people accountable. we got the technology. we got the means. we just have to do the work. and i know in this audience, elaine, that seed you talked about, they are right here. and they are going to take what they learn today and change it

into a new america. thank you. >> thank you. >> what i want to do is i want to ask one more question but i hate when we have three minutes left and then we open the floor and only two people get to ask questions. >> uh-oh. >> so there is a mike in the middle here that will be available for those that want to ask questions. we will get so as many as we can which is why i want to open it as quickly as possible. if you would begin to line up there in the center aisle following this question. this is for both wade and elaine. we wanted to talk about this -- what is the socioeconomic impact of voting on african americans? >> yes. >> and so wade, i would like for you to just talk about some of the small ways that we are impacted because there are so many? elaine, could you also talk about something that representative becerra talked about which is how do we

financially impact the voting process? and what we can do to play a more sophisticated game on fund raising, on donating to the kind of candidates that we want and on playing a fundraising role within parties if we so choose to play the role in that space? guys and then elaine. >> voting obviously matters. here is a good example. eric holder who is now the attorney general in the united states would not be in office were it not for barack obama. without eric holder in office it is unlikely we would have gotten something called the fair sentencing act that reduced disparities and took off three years of sentences for many. if it were not for eric holder we wouldn't have an attorney general arguing that people who were convicted of felonies should be entitled to vote. if it were not for eric holder we would not have a comprehensive effort to reduce sentencing disparities based on mandatory minimums that have been generated. so elections matter, guys. when eric holder is challenged by the house of representatives and thrown into a censorship fight, that is something we should be concerned about. and when people talk about the potential to impeach president obama because he has carried out policies that are in the best

interest of the country, understand that is an attack on his record and the programs that he is pursuing. so when we don't have a jobs program that responds to the high level of unemployment in the african american community, because obstruction of the jobs program was seen as being in the interest of his political opponents, that is a consequence we have to deal with. when we are challenged about providing resources, i mentioned medicaid earlier, there are school costs for public education that are affected by elections. so there are a number of both major and micro issues affected by the outcome of elections. i'm looking to use what we have. you know, ferguson has given us a moment that will help generate a movement and yes, i'm delightd that groups like color of change and others are in the effort. but i'm now looking for a

hashtag that says hands up, go vote. >> yes, that also. >> hands up, go vote. >> we can do that. >> there is a connection between what you do and the consequences that we are feeling on the ground. so when the president supports providing body cameras for police officers as a way of helping to protect all of us by giving us film of what happened, that's a positive. or when holder, who has responsibility for writing guidance from the department of justice, that determines how race can be used in law enforcement purposes, that is something that only he is capable of organizing and doing. so i'm saying, yes, we do have to educate ourselves but, look, i want to go back to something the congresswoman beatty said. there is a judge in this