8:30, we hear from karen white at the national education association on the estimated $40 million or organization plans to spend this election cycle. >> good morning everyone, there is one week to go before all of you head to the polls to decide which party will control the senate. campaign 2014f continues. at 2:00 p.m. you can watch the house debate for main's second district. at 9:00 p.m. the south carolina senate debate followed by the new hampshire first district debate. for more.c-span.org details. withll begin this morning

the november elections on "the washington journal." what are the top issues for you? >> you can join the conversation on twitter @cspanwj. .r go to facebook.com/cspan we will get to your thoughts and a second, what are the top issues for you and campaign 2014. let me show you a gallup pole that was recently finished. viewed onnode a america's list of top u.s. problems. this as the quarantined and's or the first people to be diagnosed to the virus, it ranks among the top 10 issues americans consider to be the most important facing the country. however it still ranks behind five others including the

economy which tops the list at 17%. dissatisfaction with government is 16% and unemployment at 10%. inlup earlier this month october did a similar survey when they found the economy and government are the top election issues for both parties. , but for bothdely parties, republicans and democrats it is the economy and the government that tops the list. what are the top issues for you. the lines are open. republicans (202) 585-3881. democrats (202) 585-3880 and independent's (202) 585-3882. ready for your call so dial now. let me show you jerry's article today.

the portrait of american voters. 2014 versus 2012. the midterm election promises to do a terrific job of aloe -- illustrating the basic schism of american politics. why we have deeply divided government and washington. republicans have assembled the ideal coalition for winning congressional elections. he goes on to say that with a , the weak coalition which tend to be older, wider, more conservative and more mail appears to be ready to show up in force. the democratic one, not so much. explain whyty helps republican sound so much more confident about next tuesday for now. anthony in new york, a democratic caller what are the top issues for you?

i would like to wish you a belated birthday to say you're doing an astounding job. you have fulfilled my expectations and gun so much further, and the way that you poise questions and you allow people -- you are very respectful when they come calling and they might say something stupid, but you allow the question to stand and i appreciate that. my greatest concern in this society -- i think we have lost -- there seems to be a loss of rationality in our thinking. we are basically walking atop the titanic and adjusting deck chairs because nuclear power in this country is going to be the undoing of the planet. what is going on in japan is a wake-up call to all the pleas to stop reducing nuclear waste. they were supposed to start

receiving the waste in 1996 and not release it -- it is sitting -- it is manufactured on the ocean fronts and riverbanks of this country as well as the world over. we really needt to reassess the problem -- we have twice the waste that will fit in yucca mountain. and is my major concern know c-span in 2010 had a class of high school students who basically supported nuclear energy and they were the grand prize winners and i was astounded as i did the same research that they did and i came up with a totally different conclusion as did oppenheimer, einstein and these other people who said it is not the way to go. endorsement of a

student -- certain policy, the student contest, we were asking students to do a documentary, fulfilling certain criteria, if you're interested in it, go to the website www.c-span.org. back to campaign 2014, what are the top issues for you? that caller said it was nuclear energy. the portraits of american voters , the likely voters are 78% white, 11% black and 7% hispanic. by comparison those who voted in two dozen 12 as determined by exit polling were 72% white, 13% black and 10% hispanic. that decline of minority interest and relative rise and white interest, if borne out

next tuesday is bad news for democrats. morningan, joe, good come a what are the top issues for you? male in mym a white 50's and the issue that i am most concerned about is obamacare. -- everye democrats single senate incumbent democrat up for election voted for obamacare and this was when they used the reconciliation process even though 56% of america did not want obamacare, the senate democrats pushed obamacare through the process and then when it came time to implement obamacare, when it came time to sign up in august 2013, senate

democrats went to the white house and ask president obama an exemption and president obama said ok. here we have senate immigrants passing laws that they later exempt themselves from and that is my biggest issue. host: all right, joe. i'm wardo to twitter, about a bloated, corrupt and out ofe government control, drunk on power. i hope republicans take senate for balance. timothy noah is reporting this morning that minimum wage is the wedge issue from hell. even as democrats lurch toward disastrous elections support for raising it on wage is resonating with voters and it may be the

only issue on which democrats are winning. the pew research center poll found 90% of democrats and 53% of republicans found raising the federal minimum from $10.10 from its current $7.25 as proposed by president obama. republican, what are the top issues for you? caller: i would like to vote for anyone who will help restore and clement obamacare. it is one of the best insurances that we have. i hate when callers call in and talk like it is one of the worst things we have in the united states and they should repeal it. they should not repeal anything, both parties should work together to help restore it, it is a good thing that we have. i will vote for someone who makes sure that we may be able to vote because a lot of states are trying to suppress the votes for the latinos and the blacks and i

want them to try to make it fair so everyone can vote. lincoln hills, illinois, republican, top issue echo -- top issue? caller: i'm feeling a lot of hate, i don't have hatred for people, but i'm feeling that the democrats don't have a sense of patriotism that our country see a lotit is sad to of people not understanding where our bill of rights came our sense of -- how to explain it yet go -- explain it? that's all right i think we understand. joe, independent caller.

caller: my major issue is that we have no leadership, can i keep going question mark --? no leadership and no morals like we used to have as long as we keep killing all the little innocent human beings, and they want to pull the guns away and say guns kill people which is wrong, people kill people and not a word about all the little innocents killed who never used a gun. as far as i'm concerned with pro-choice, the only choice is not to lay down and get pregnant. that is my comment. this whole nation is headed down the tubes without any leadership on ebola, isis or all these we are doomed if we

don't change our morals. gallup allthere is a that was recently done that found u.s. voters are giving the republican party and edge versus the democrats on handling these top issues. the republicans in congress hold a significant lead over the democrats on four of six issues. economy, the way the government is working, the situation with islamic militants and the federal budget deficit. democrats by contrast, top the republican rivals on just one of the six, equal pay for women. that from a recent gallup pole. yesterday at the daily news briefing, josh earnest was pressed by abc white house correspondent about the role president obama is playing take a look. [video clip]

any examination of the present schedule over the next eight days in advance of the midterm election would indicate a serious effort by the president to support democratic candidates on the ballot >> are in how many democratic senate candidates as he campaigned with? >> there are a number of democratic senators with whom he has appeared. he's looking for to an event with mr. peterson on saturday in michigan, i know he traveled with senator franken where they are expecting issues important with middle-class voters in minnesota, i don't think there are campaign events associated with that specific trip, but what you have seen the president do is dedicate his time to doing what he can to support democratic candidates. he spent a lot of time raising money for them and that reflects a significant commitment of this president's time. the presidente has been considered politically

toxic to any of those democrats? >> i do not agree with that. host: at the white house yesterday, the correspondent talking about what role the president has played and his schedule with a week to go before the midterm elections. you can hear that he is headed to michigan where he will be meeting with governors there and he will also be in wisconsin as well and will hear from the "washington times" this morning. they have the headlines that democrats are shunning the president, "the washington times" reporting. ,hile they badly need democrats democrats demote obama to stump for gubernatorial candidates.

the only democratic senator who has agreed to appear with mr. obama is in michigan. gary peters who leads the republican by average of 10 percentage points in a race word national republicans have stopped running ads. news, from the website with the ap story that romney was in kansas along with the former senator bob dole campaigning for pat roberts, the incumbent republican in a close race there. stumping for pat roberts and trying to get him reelected. you can also see senator sam brown -- former senator sam brownback and the governor also up for reelection, standing there with mitt romney. the washington post reporting on that kansas governor race, they say it is their national state

for the republican party. race.cumbent in a tight his close because many republicans have the debt -- effected from brownback. if he can bring home those wavering republicans he can win a second term but so far he has not been able to do so. the republican governor association has dumped $4.9 million into kansas, something that was not in the strategy book at the start. chairmanistie, the rga recently put out a call to gop governors and other surrogates to come to kansas and remind republicans of the gubernatorial race's importance. top issues for you in this midterm election, john, bridgewater, new jersey. you're on the air. me is: the first thing to

the importance of the supreme court appointees, nominees in the future. i think that is critical for my party. lackecond thing, with the securityty, personal will be a real issue. i am 66 years old and i have lived in liberal states, new york and new jersey for economic reasons. gungoing out today to buy a and pepper spray after all of the incidents in new york etc. the government cannot protect us, it is up to us to do that. >> floyd in louisiana. have you voted for both republicans and democrats? caller: you're calling on the independent line --

caller: no. caller: you're calling up -- host: you'll vote for mary linger? wise that? caller: here in louisiana, this .s a democratic state the conversation is all evil talk. they are talking about being christians and coming out of church and talking all kinds of evil talk. old i'm retired from the u.s. air force and i will say this over and over. the people that i am around, they are talking about voting republican but you have to understand one thing, you put these republicans in office and they will put more people out of work and they will send your

children right back to war in the mid east. they will get all of your children killed. you're fighting people in their homeland and taking the democratic process to them. the expect them to live by your rules and they have been living and fighting for thousands of years. host: according to the papers this morning in the news report leading to the election, in louisiana you're headed for a runoff, that they are not going to get a 50% majority that they need. lies.: it is all based on he has no program whatsoever. , they askedebate him what is his plan for louisiana and he said to unseat andmayor and harry reid vote against anything obama puts up.

he didn't say what he will do for the people. he is ducking all of the debates. politico says the polls show that and your and cassidy are running neck and with landrieu just a point in front of cassidy. it is unlikely that either front runner will earn the majority necessary to avoid a runoff. cassidy, the congressman from the sixth district has the edge in the runoff. asked to choose between landrieu and cassidy, the republicans lead 48% to 41%. int runoff taking place december. mary landrieu first elected to congress in 1997 up for reelection. globe, the boston democrat attack ads aim to save

the senate majority. we told you earlier about jerry who says likely voters will be whiter and older. the democrats in this last week are going after the older voters. they have launched several ads in the last week in key senate races. aimed at older voters who cast ballots in large numbers in the midterm elections and tend to support republicans. here is the ad the senate democratic campaign party is running in iowa. [video clip] talk about relying on social security and joni ernst talks about privatizing it. extreme, she so would risk senior's retirement on the stock market, ending the guaranteed minimum benefit. tryingtood up to those

to privatize social security, he will protect it for all of us. senatorialtic campaign committee is responsible for the content of the advertising. host: that is a new ad that will be playing in iowa and several areas of the key battleground senate in the last week. democratic campaign thosetee is putting out ads and buying up the airwaves with one week to go. "theashington times -- washington times" has this. trouble in obama country. facingtic states are unexpectedly tough challenges. you can see here in colorado with the democrats just barely leading the republican opponent, andonnecticut, the democrat

the republican in a dead heat. illinois, a statistical tie. massachusetts, wisconsin, the list goes on. "the wall street journal" this morning, democrats and republicans in a tight race again. martha coakley, whose loss was a shock is facing a similar scenario. latest boston globe poll gives mr. baker a nine point edge. that in the massachusetts gubernatorial debate. by the way we aired that last night so if you missed it go to www.c-span.org so you can watch the debate. let's go to george, democratic caller. caller: thank you for taking my call. host: top issue for you, george?

top issue for me is the depression. a few days before the election in ohio, the supreme court comes out and does all kinds of stuff making it hard for the democrats to vote. ,arly voting, sunday voting they did this in not only ohio but colorado and florida, wisconsin, texas and more. corporations have bought up the congress. we don't have a congress we have a corporation rule. that is who rules the country. you say one word against the nra you'll never get reelected. host: bill from new york, independent. caller: hey greta, i do have one issue i have 17 trillion. -- aphis deficit gecko

it? -- deficit? caller: thais the debt. eventually the bill will come due. it is understandable that politicians have to divide the race, by gender, by generation. they are seeking power and that buthe way that you do that, it is very important that we keep in mind that we all benefit from this great nation and the debt is a systemic threat. host: built you might be interested, and today's "usa today" the deficit remains an urgent issue, the deficit and debt are tied. the decline to $486 billion has prompted declarations in some circles that it is no longer a concern that we should turn our

focus to making investments in economic growth. america is and will continue to be constrained from pursuing dynamic economic growth opportunities and from making smart investments until we put our budget on a fiscally sustainable course. heights,icago illinois. independent. that afterissue is , after the long vacation, that once the republicans get back to the house i would like to see -- the republican said the main issue for unemployment was jobs and they would find us jobs and they have not done that. --boehner is is going on 4 million, still waiting for the jobs on the

republican so john boehner needs to get that vote up now. he even said there is an issue with long-term unemployment and he would do something about it. issue oncee see that they get back to the house republicans, they promise us jobs.nd have not found us they said the pipeline but that was something not going anywhere and did not impact anymore and so they still haven't found any jobs for long-term unemployment. lowell in huntington, west virginia, democrat. thank you for taking my call. corruption.s the gerrymandering of the districts. virginia we have 55 the majority of 18.

18 state senators the majority of 55 counties? thank you for taking my call. host: on twitter, the top issue, in order toenate prevent obama from flipping scotus and installing more federal left-wing judicial activist. one week from today when all of you will decide who controls the senate and many of the top offices in the state. hillary clinton is campaigning for democrats, washington post reporting that she looks to rally the female vote. she has appeared alongside female democratic candidates at events designed to appeal to women and energize them to vote. she is adopted a fiercely partisan method. she champions working mothers at the fragile edge of the middle

class, it should carry over well into a presidential bid should she choose to run. bill clinton is of course also stumping for democratic candidates. is a crucialte vote and many of the senate races that are being closely watched. especially in iowa according to npr's recent report. debbie in philadelphia, independent. one -- i have a question, who are these people that are being pulled? have your had anyone on that say who the people are? of 320 million, i know they are not polling 320 million, so in they bring out itse polls, are they basing on a majority of a certain

amount of people that they pul -- poll? because i listen to c-span and just listening to the callers they don't represent what the polls say. , whatever.- con- host: which they looked into the mechanics of those issues is how are polls conducted. go to www.c-span.org or the "washington journal" webpage. you can do research. jesse in maryland, what are the top issues for you? everybody thinks the republicans don't have a plan. the republicans have a good plan, it is called war. that is their plan. host: that was jesse in maryland. of "the richmond

monitoringes boost of ebola monitoring that is the headline. cdc recommended new restrictions for people at the highest risk. some state governors and even the army are carving out their own path. as contradictory's date policies proliferate, the cdc recommendations mark the effort to create a national standard, one that would protect public health without encouraging people -- that is the worry that by quarantining that will nurse in new jersey you are people from going to africa to help fight ebola. top issues for you in campaign 2014, that is the question for all of you this morning. let me give you the phone lines.

host: with 15 minutes left to get your thoughts on this. what is driving you to the polls. from what you hear from all of you, the phone lines are open. "the atlantaning, journal" on develop. georgia is unveiling its new ebola roles -- rules. thatissued orders travelers entering georgia with direct contact with the subject quarantined at a designated facility even if they show no symptoms. all that from georgia. the "wall street journal" has the headline, that the cdc quarantine rules, as the nurse was released by the new jersey government and allowed the home. also have from "usa today"

confusion writing develop policies. houseeport that the white says it conveyed concerns to the governors of new york and the stringent policies were not grounded in science and would hamper efforts to recruit volunteers. chris christie, an governor, says he has gotten no contact from the administration of "usa today" reporting this morning. the opinion section of "usa today" their editorial board does governors in new jersey and new york say their hasty quarantine is adding to ebola problems, saying it is discouraging people to fight it at its source. that is the opinion of the papers today.

protect the public but officials should not overreact. "washington post". yvonne a democratic caller. liesr: i am tired of their and i don't know who to believe. i'm going to vote for snyder which is a republican but the rest i'm going to vote democrat. echo -- that?hat >> he has are a been there and i still have my food stamps which i desperately need and everything else, he has been doing. i am afraid of showers because of this cap and trade. that will be more money and my social security and all i hear from the republicans is cut

social security, cut medicare and all that before they start cutting what the american people need, they need to start cutting what they are giving to all these other countries for their infrastructure. host: rick from louisville, ohio. caller: every time i call it is the same thing, we live in a military states. host: where listening. caller: we live in a military state, we have war criminals, we live in a police state we see what happens in ferguson. cnbc promotes class warfare. the definition of class warfare is mainstream versus wall street -- so now you have to ask yourself, how do we start fixing this problem? first we have to identify the

problem and i've come on your show before, the last five wars in this country have been started by texans. in largest militaries ace the world is in texas, the largest oil companies are texas. -- you go to texas and that is where the immigration -- 80% of all immigration problem start in texas, but texas controls all of radio through clear channel radio so let's go to television. host: mike in maryland, republican. caller: i think the ebola quarantine is a thing for doctors and people of america. host: is this driving you to the polls? caller: it is one of the things, the inconsistency with every crisis it comes on and i want to

change -- host: you're breaking up, let me move to valerie. it was under a republican president, president reagan that this nation moved from a creditor nation to a debtor nation. with the republican after clinton came bush. this president, obama has reduced the debt. in some other news this morning i want to show you the opinion pages of "the new york times." elton john writing in the new times"am -- "new york

don't forget about aids. we need the same coalition that fought for marriage equality. champion's social justice activists to address the spiraling aids crisis again. why? because 30 years after the aids epidemic began, rates of infection are at unacceptable levels. one in eight gay men is hiv-positive and yet a majority of gay and bisexual men so they are not concerned about hiv according to new research from the kaiser family foundation. writing in the pages of the new york times. a new report reveals why are tracking of males -- wire

tracking of males in the u.s.. the u.s. postal service approved nearly 50,000 request from law enforcement agencies to secretly monitor the mail of americans. contained of requests in a little noticed 2014 on it. a headline that is on many of the newspapers this morning, "the washington post" marines are wrapping up their afghan mission. a 13 year effort ends with stealth. journal" theirt piece has this picture. the marines prepare to depart on

monday after american and british forces formally handed over two camp's. caller: good morning, i am going to the polls for immigration. drop right off the radar and all those kids are still coming across the border 'sd the obama administration printing 90 million green cards and they will be giving them away. republicans or democrats will let it continue -- host: the white house dress secretary was asked about that yesterday so if you missed it go to the website on www.c-span.org . was that the request that was made by homeland security is in line

with request that have been made in the past on paper for green cards. caller: that doesn't make it right. that just means more and more coming this way. they're not assimilating to the country and they need to stop immigration completely and let people assimilate. americansming to be but then they want to keep their own culture and that is just wrong. they don't learn our language. host: john in michigan, republican. the issue that i have this morning and previous mornings is that i have been watching you for the last 45 minutes and in that time you have had 15 calls, two have been republican. i watch her program every

morning, and this is the trend. i called twice before i finally got on, the phone rang 10 times and then hung up on me. i found that a trend on the republican line. maybe that is why republicans are not getting on, because they are hung up on. i wondered if you ever posted a of thethat you have times that republicans, independents and democrats call. conspiracy tot a hang up on republicans that colin. we can't make people call in. republicans,both democrats and all others to call in. we want to have a balanced conversation on the show. in other news, "the washington

post" has found that the white house jumper is unfit to stand trial. ordered to undergo further psychological evaluation and treatment. gloria, democratic caller. caller: thank you for your program, i am a 76-year-old blind lady. i am a member of the clergy and live below the poverty level and i have never collected a dime of welfare but i am grateful to be an american. pollss driving me to the is the fact that the boat -- vote was bought with blood and treasure and people are doubting obama for being biracial. we african-americans arm the enemy by calling him black, you're not black if you have a white mother. we should get act to patriotism and get back to making this

country a place that is welcoming for everybody. i don't think the message, give me your tired and your poor was meant to start a food fight. i think it was meant to teach us to work together. host: by the way a producer just notified me that we have taken five republican calls, six democrats and seven independents. richard in florida, independent. a beautiful day in lake placid. good show today. i think the people, the public will have to realize that we do not have a two party system, we have a one party system. the republicans and the democrats are the same party and are going in the same direction. happen what will not when republicans take control of the senate. i think they will.

they will not seal the borders, they will not stop illegal immigration, we will have the same amount of wars, they will not change the tax code, they will not repeal obamacare. host: have you ever voted for a republican? caller: oh yes, i was a republican and a democrat, and what we are seeing here now is the government against the people. they want all power in washington. economye put 1/6 of the in the hands of the career politicians. third-party and realize that these two parties are not working, they're working for themselves and their special interests.

host: that is richard, the independent in florida. we will continue talking about 2014 with mike duncan, the president and ceo of the american coalition for clean coal energy and then we will talk with karen white who is the political director for the national education association. first, real clear politics is calling the race between martha coakley and charlie baker a tossup in monday night's debate. coakley was asked about the boston globe's recent endorsement of the gop endorsement. [video clip] >> the boston coat -- globe has, and endorsed charlie baker for governor. headlines like martha chokley have chased you. why are you not leading big? thanks for that question, i

appreciate that what matters is not a newspaper endorsement or what the poll say, i believe this race is pretty close and i believe people who follow this also believe that, what i have been focused on since i got into the race a year ago was on traveling around the state and listening to people about what they needed and where we could go. that we haveieve the best ideas about turning the economy around for everybody. education whene they don't have vouchers, making sure that we invest in our workforce and our kids. that is what will win this race. i am confident we will win a member for three -- that we will win november 4. >> charlie is this a close race?

i have been really pleased and gratified by the response we got from the voters. i have been grateful to receive the endorsement and not just from the boston globe but every newspaper in massachusetts that has made an endorsement has endorsed our campaign and i believe that is because they believe as i do that the state government is broken and the next governor of massachusetts needs to be a proven leader and manager with tremendous success in the public sector and private sector and to a served in local government. inarly the voters massachusetts say this race has gone from in 20 points behind to even or little bit ahead and is papers come out with endorsements they have made statements with who they believe is most suited to lead at this point. host: a little bit from last night's governor debate. campaign 2014 coverage continues tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. scottnate republican tim

versus the democrat and the independent. our conversation with campaign 2014 continues with mike duncan, the american coalition for clean coal electricity. let me begin with mitch mcconnell's recent ad that he made, the war on coal. i will show that to our viewers and then talk about it. [video clip] for 13s a coal miner years but like so many of us i got laid off because of the war on coal. i choice was to learn a new career or leave kentucky. senator mcconnell help secure me the dollars to re-secure kentucky coal miners we could get good jobs. it was a lifelong dream to be a paramedic and thanks to mitch mcconnell i'm getting the training i need to fulfill that dream. he is using his experience and clout to look out for coal miners like me.

mr. duncan, what is the war on coal? guest: if you live in eastern kentucky or west virginia you feel like you have been through a war because of the proliferation of changes brought about i the administration. life thatanges of these communities experience. the new regulations that have gone into place. we have lost a lot of jobs and in eastern kentucky with a film was made, over 7000 mining jobs and been lost since 2012. those jobs averaged $85,000 a person and they have been leaving the area and going to western kentucky are going out west to find other coal jobs. we have a depression in that part of the world. host: where else is this issue playing out, the president's climate action plan that he introduced one year ago. guest: it is playing out all

over the country because it is a policy issue that has grave implications are those who can least afford it. specifically, west virginia is a good example. the congresswoman has a substantial lead there. many of the ads in that campaign have been around coal in the way of life. how you see it in other states you are seeing in virginia. as anlespie as use this effective issue in the western part of the state. poll recently. last forhange ranked republicans at 19%. is it enough of an issue for the republican party to get them to vote, it doesn't seem like it.

guest: i don't know if it is a national republican issue at this point. both candidates are saying they support role and are taking shots at the administration because of the regulations. regulations, $357 billion in the annual cost of $41 billion and loss of jobs. these are very real and in some places this is hit more than others. particularly were coal is produced in ohio, pennsylvania, central appellation area and kentucky, but a bigger issue is what this will do to the electricity process and reliability in the country. you're hearing about two dozen 14 but you also here in 2016.

host: where is the american coalition for clean coal electricity bringing this message? guest: we are doing it through advocacy. we came out recently with the study by the associates in europe talking about the cost. we are concerned about liability and affordability. we work in those areas we try to inform people that this will have a devastating effect on those who can least afford it. make above $10,000 ear. people who believe -- $10,000 a year. people who live above the poverty level have to make very expensive -- we're trying to educate leaders, members of congress and individuals. host: i want show you and the viewers what the league of

conservation had to say on "the washington journal." favor of theg in plan but he was in carbon pollution is costing billions of dollars a year. [video clip] pollution and other pollutants are costing billions of dollars every year. in kidss paid on coal to have to miss school because of respiratory illness or asthma attacks. people have to miss work because of respiratory problems or asthma attacks. people even have to pay with their lives. cost to the in clean power plan is at least seven dollars in net economic benefits for one dollar in cleanup costs. that is a great bargain. host: your reaction. guest: i disagree, these are the same arguments we heard when they put in the mercury rules

and those be implemented by 2015 and we have lost a third of the coal fire plants in the country. they did not have scrubbers or would not put them on. these are the same arguments they used then to tell us we need to get rid of most of the particulars and we have gotten rid of more than 90% of the particulate matters and now they are saying that carbon is what causes these illnesses. there is not a direct correlation or a medical study that will show you a correlation. these are the same arguments from the past and they don't take into account, the social benefits of carbon. has been built on the fact that we have affordable, reliable electricity. in the industrial age is we of been able to get increasingly clean. unfortunately, this it ministration has gotten ahead of themselves and they put in a new source for performance

standards. meaning that new coal plants won't be built. it's like going from the old cell phones -- i don't know if your member, they were in a bag and weighed as much of the rick -- as much as a brick. to now you have to go something else without anything in between. that is what new standards have done to the industry. host: it sounds like you don't disagree from curbing carbon pollution but the way that they are doing it. guest: i disagree with their conclusions because even if you take into account and put this rule into effect it has a minimal effect on an international basis. it is like throwing a pebble into the ocean and it would increase the rise of water levels less than three sheets of paper. it would increase temperatures less than 41 hundredths of a degree. .04 of a degree.

host: what would you agree to do? guest: we need more research. we need to develop different ways to make our environment more friendly. carbon sequestration is what the president is pushing and that has not been commercially developed. it will be over a. of time and it will be one of the tools that we have but we need to encourage more research so we can have increasingly clean air. arguably we have the cleanest air in the world in the united states. you are china and the pollutants, i wish that they toe buying our technology put on their coal plants so that the air will be better. here is "national geographic" with a story about coal and they ask, can coal ever be clean? host: -- guest: yes it can be clean, it

is increasingly clean now. i am optimistic about the future of coal. i think the ways we're using the 300 year supply of cold that we have in this country, i think it may be burned in the ground and turned into gas. there are other ways of getting at it. all the technology cannot be developed overnight and we are leading the world with our clean air. geographic writes this. clustering it underground in porous rock foundation sounds doe a tech fantasy, but the has been $6.5 billion over the past three decades researching and testing technology. guest: it is being built by the southern company and as with new technology, there is a cost overrun there but the technology is promising and their capturing co2 and sending it to texas

where it is used to produce more energy by fracking methods. we have a plant going online in saskatchewan which is funded by help from the canadian government. answer toot a single this, there will be a series of answers. ron is up first, a democratic caller. question, why one should america or the world guarantee an outdated energy source that is proven to pollute and degrade the climate just a keep lining the pockets of a few people when we can replace it, jobs wise with clean energy renewables? host: i disagree with your premise, america is the saudi arabia of coal in the world and

is part of a good all of the above energy strategy. we believe in all of the above. we believe in gas, nuclear, wind and solar but coal keeps the lights on. coal is the fuel that has acted as the us in the cold this winter and the warmest summer. do not the other fields perform as well or are not as available for that 24 hours that we need. you probably saw it on the front page of the washington times this morning, clamoring for coal. -- guest: that is absolutely right. we use about 1/8 of the world supply of coal. every powerid of -- t in america of coal,

coal is the social equalizer, what we built our society on, and it is what other societies are being built on today. host: -- ohio, a republican, you are up next. people have got to realize that the coal industry is burning in this country now, that our plans have spent grains of dollars and cleaned up a lot. they could do more. could do away with our coal like this guy says, but countries are making the technology better.

given this country a chance comment will clean up coal more. host: howdy thing that would happen? -- how do you think that would happen? investedhey have arty in getting coal cleaner than it is. the problem is we have plans out -- plants now that do not use much. unfortunately, bob is right. the new epa plan by the president to close another 45,000 megawatts, which gets us into a reliability problem in the country, and he is also right a great deal has been toested by utilities increasingly clean the coal used in the country. another 20 billion will be invested in the next five years or so the final implementation. i am optimistic that long-term coal is part of the solution for

balanced energy policy in the country. washington times also reporting coal is producing 40% of electricity and demand is expected for it to -- for it to continue to grow. that is according to the international energy agency. peter. before i make a comment about the coal industry, you have been tempting us with the capital bone of getting ready for rehab. you think you could get the cameraman to zoom in on it so we could see what is going on a little closer? and possibly have a show in the future that maybe you could put a remote camera out there and do an interview about what is going on and how they will do it? it is really interesting. watching it grow every day. host: any thoughts? guest: i would agree.

i was sitting here watching and i thought the same. host: mason in dayton, ohio, democratic caller. mike duncan is also the former republican national committee champion. he served for five u.s. presidents. mason, go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. the one thing i am not hearing you say, which is an absolute fact, is eventually coal will run out. it is not there forever. we will have to come up with solutions. while i think it is not a bad idea compared to other fossil fuels to use that as a contemporary measure as we move to other clean energy, we have to look at the cost of coal in human lives. we have seen coal mines collapse, black long, long term negative health effects from coal, and that is an expense we

are not talking about, as well as the fact that the resources, instead of putting it into a dying fossil fuel, those resources should be put into renewable, clean energy. in a matter which way you spin this, there is no such thing as clean coal. there isn't. it is one of the dirtiest substances on the planet. when you talk about epa regulation, you have to realize that because it is a dirty resource and there is greed behind it, we must have regulations by the epa to make sure our water and air and earth is clean. that, thatagainst means your concern is more with money and profits, and not with the individuals themselves. there,there is a lot mason. thank you for raising those issues. believe that we do need environmental regulation in this country. on fireer when it was

in cleveland and you cannot see because of the smog in california, so i'm old enough to understand that and i also understand the needs to be a balance and the regulations proposed now do not have a balance. they do not take in to account the social benefits of carbon. we would not have the health standards or the standards of living in this country that we have today had we not been able to use our fossil fuels effectively over a time. the amount of supply we have for coal is about a 300 year supply based on producing about one billion tons a year of: america. so we do have an abundant supply. i do think coal has been a part of the great past of america. and i think it will be part of the future. because we will get better at this. on a personal note, as someone who's grandfathers have spent time in the coal mines, i understand what they look like when they walk out of the minds every day.

but also i understand what the coal did for our family and community and nation. who makes at the american coalition for clean coal question mark -- coal? guest: we are unique. we also have the railroads to carry the coal and many of the coalties that are in the and the suppliers for the chain of production. that is over 20 years old and we are based here in washington. c six means we are an association and we have to follow the rules. we do not support candidates and we do not have a committee, but -- o advocate encouraging voters to get out and vote on the issue of

coal. take a look. ♪ >> hello. . am dale earnhardt junior election day is around the corner. i have met hard-working americans who depend on low-cost energy and their political the -- political beliefs may vary, but they all agree affordable power is afforded to us all. testing low-cost energy from coal is not a partisan issue and .veryone stands to lose let your voice be heard and be thisto get out and vote election day. learn more about glycol is america's power. host: who are you targeting with that ad? guest: it is on youtube and it

is targeted to both republicans and democrats, to the nascar constituency. get a chance to talk to individual americans about coal and explain our story, we think we are making progress. dale earnhardt has been a great spokesman over the past three years. part of the idea of having him encourage people. he is influential in the nascar community. in baltimore, independent. caller: two questions. could we reduce the cost of energy by having a more efficient power grid, thereby using less fuel, and by having lower costs? second, and i have looked at this and have checked -- tried to find studies as much as i

can, while you do say 90% of illusion has been reduced, what that theen shows energy levels are still about the same, and those are actually the things that hurt us. with thet me start idea of the grid here and he is absolutely correct the united needs infrastructure. one of the concerns we have with the president's plan is by taking off-line so many coal fire plants, we are not sure how they will be replaced. we saw that last winter with the solar vortex. the company and anp talked about the fact that they will be running plants that will be closed in 2016 to meet the demand for extreme weather that we had last year. get moree need to efficient and we need to be able to bring our reserve requirements down on the grid.

we do that through investment. closing down the coal plants will put us in harms way later when we have extreme weather conditions in the country. the gas supply was not built to generate electricity through turbines. there is a lot of supply for home heating. infrastructure in the united states to replace at this point. we're putting ourselves in peril. as far as carcinogens, i have not seen the studies he is referring to. i would be happy to look at those. i know there has not been a between coalation and some of the health effects the opponents of cold talked about. coal talked about. host: when will they make a decision on the president's action plan? guest: we will make a decision for the second rule on the existing plans, december 1.

next june, they planned to come out with regulations for the states. you've had over 30 states rejected to various parts of the plant and several attorney generals who already filed suit on this and a indicate they will file suit later. they passed legislation and say, you cannot do this the way it has been laid out. the building blocks have been laid out in the plan, some people believe they are impossible. for example, the idea of getting more efficiency with the existing plants that we have here that is already being done. very few plants can get more than 1.5% efficiency but the plans call for 6% efficiency. believe there are practical and legal problems with this and we believe there is a huge affordability problem. when will a decision be made? what is the timeline? guest: the administration after

they receive all of the comments will be able to rework the plan but they are on a very aggressive timeline. it is a legacy for the president of united states. they would basically have the plan into -- implemented by the states when the president goes out of office. host: let's hear george. lived in new england. we are here and all your coal plants. stacks in pennsylvania, west -- everywhereyone . we have signs not to eat the fish. there are literally no reptiles here. everything has died. frogs, toads, turtles, most of our fish are gone.

trees are dying from i guess mercury, they say. our oceans are full of mercury now. back toced it right have huge coal plants that been built in the last 40 years. you tell me what you will do about mercury in coal. thank you. mercury rulings go into full effect in 2015. the levels are at what the epa asked the levels to be reduced to. incentive to put more on. it is part of the 20 billion that has been put in place. it is also part of the 20 billion that is being spent now to put the scrubbers on to reduce mercury. >> iowa, a republican there. hi. caller: good morning. i enjoy listening to the show.

doing aan, you are great job. in my work career, i have worked at coal generation, at the ethanol industry, and i just wanted to remind all americans. i do not care if your independent or republican or democrat, that the truth is always in the middle. i get a big kick at people like this last gentleman. i went in new england and went fishing. i am not sure what he is talking about. obviously, the truth is somewhere in the middle. be an expert on computers and other things but i have worked on the regulatory side of companies. what you do not get a good representation out of 20 within -- when you listen to tv shows and read articles in the paper is the regulatory requirements the companies are under.

i just want to finish with mr. duncan's comments that, travel. please travel to these other continents. you do not understand how good we are and we will continue to have to leave -- leave this world in pollution control. but we are so far ahead of everybody else. i think we are making mountains out of mole hills. very important to us and i think it should continue. thank you for your time. thank you. that was a very articulate defense. i have an opportunity to go to china from time to time and observed it firsthand. as part of their five-year plan, they intend to prove particularly in larger cities. they could have improved some time ago. one of the reasons i had trouble with the president's first plan he put out on technology is because if we develop that a $2ology, potentially

trillion transfer we could sell to other countries later on. i am hoping at some point we would be able to get back to the develop men business and help the rest of the world with their development. forbes magazine is in favor of it. plan, a states can choose to close or upgrade coal plants, join a carbon in zero carbon renewable energy sources, boost energy efficiency programs, or take any other step to meet the epa set for each state. chances are, many state strategies will be multipronged. best practices will be exported to other states. guest: i would like to talk to some of the state officers now who are trying to grapple with

this. a lot of flexibility. the numbers are not flexible. days are given numbers they have to meet a certain guideline, and itse four building blocks, is almost impossible to put them together. another example beyond the one i just talked about is the amount of energy reduction that has to be done for this plan to be fully implemented, over half $1 trillion will need to be spent by consumers to have better and efficient compliances and their thesewould help reach goals. we know from studies that that just does not happen. partially because people cannot afford it and partially because they choose to buy the $3000 air-conditioner as opposed to the $5,000 air-conditioner. you look at the building blocks and the goals that have been set forward, states have real difficulty. some states with nuclear i

having difficulty because they believe they were not given credit for the nuclear power they have in that state now. the jury is still out and i think you will see some interesting comments on epa. i just hope the epa's listening. host: jimmy in rockville, maryland, independent. caller: good morning. two comments. the woman in north carolina reminded me of this. pop that was released in the river in north carolina, was that coal plant related? can you elaborate on that? secondly, with people calling in and talking about renewables, i think it is the case with wind that that electricity cannot be stored. they do not have batteries that are sized enough. it is not a reliable source of electricity. could you elaborate on that also

, ease? thank you. batteriesdo not have now that could effectively store wind and solar power. it it also takes a huge amount of space for wind and solar. that is another problem. we do not always have the grid needed. we entered into contracts to try to buy some wind and reverse our portfolio and the delivery of that wind was very difficult because it could not be stored. we invest a lot in the country and we will debate whether we will continue to invest in the subsidies for these renewable resources going forward. asked wasquestion you on renewables? i am biking myself. i apologize. let's go to a democratic caller, phoebe.

good morning. you're doing a good job, mr. duncan, but i think it will be downhill for coal, or at least i hope so. i lived in an old farmhouse for 30 years and the coal waste -- a coal furnace when we moved in here and they have been dumping the coal waste out in the yard in this pile. it is just very dirty. that is all i've got to say. virginiaiends in west where the mouth have been removed. we have done too much with: we should back off, that is what i think. what about that sentiment? guest: let me bring the two questions together. the first question of the previous caller had to do with the incident in north carolina

with the coal ash that spilled into the river here it and then she was talking about sludge. this can be handled. when i was on the tennessee valley board, a severe accident cost us over $1 billion to be able to clean up here you have different ways of storing it either as dry coal ash, were it can be wet coal ash. there are ways the industry could do that. plus, a lot is used for productive material. is usedthe bottom ash on roads. there are different products that could be made out of this. we need to develop that more going forward. tarnishedhaving a image, unfortunately, coal has not told its story as effectively as i hope we would be able to do in the future. we have not talked about prosperity that we have enjoyed

in america and what has allowed us to have that prosperity. we have not talked about what the coal miners have done for us. in world war ii, it was wrecked toe to have all the coal build what we needed for war. after that, the coal miners became invisible for a time. we took it for granted. host: -- -- we will have fossil fuels and we will continue to have gas and oil in the country. i hope at that point we have figured out how to do things a different way. i believe that solar and wind, long-term, will provide part of the solution. getink we will be able to battery power there. the thing that keeps the lights on most effectively, 24/7 fuel for electricity, is coal. split withu see a

the options out there? guest: different parts of the country will look at it differently. portfolios will look different in california than in indiana. indiana is the highest manufacturing base in the country and one of the reasons is because 90% of their electricity comes from coal and that has kept utility down, which allowed them to be competitive in manufacturing. in north's go to don arlington, new jersey. a democratic caller. good morning. caller: i have a hypothetical question. if they shut down all coal fire industries in the united states tomorrow, what with the power grid look like? the power grid would go down. we have certain regulations that tell us how much reserve we have

, and those were impacted last winter and we got very close on those. we could not run the country today without the coal-based electricity. republican. texas, caller: you are smooth, mike. i see why you make the big money. from the east coast and west coast and the u.k., they did a survey, wire the fish dying? they came up with coal. mercury in theof air. it goes up in smoke, raines, comes down in the water. little fish guy. 25% of the land falls in [indiscernible] thoughtnish your because you are breaking up. theer: please the dress issue of 51% of mercury in the air by coal. address that. thank you. thank you for the

question. i am not a scientist and cannot get into great detail, but i know mercury rule is being implemented by utilities in this country and mandated by the epa and the full implementation goes in this year. know that ash should -- acid rain was not the problem it was years ago. i remember the smokey mountains and the problems we had in north carolina and tennessee. i see these changing over a time. those are some things that are going on. industries the a responsible and acting responsibly and will improve in the future. democratic kansas, a caller. caller: i was watching the history channel and a guy from nasa was there and he said the earth is tipping on its access -- axis and alaska will eventually sit in the equator so that could cause

climate change. thank you. guest: i did not see this show so i cannot comment. believe in climate change and that it is happening? guest: i believe there are a lot of problems. i believe men have been responsible for some of it. i am not sure it has been responsible for the amount. what is more important is what we are trying to do about it or the support of this administration, they're leading us in the wrong direction. is one that will be very costly for the american consumer. it will create potential problems for liability and that actually will deter us being cleaner with the coal that we burn. here is a headline recently --

they report many republicans are not in a good issue to make a judgment on it. what should these republican candidates be saying? >> i cannot answer for republican candidates, but i will tell you it is unfortunate that in this country, if you challenge conventional wisdom and say, i do not believe in climate change, you are immediately labeled as a denier. historically, we wanted to have debate around the scientific method and we are having that debate. i welcome different opinions on this. i think different candidates can have different opinions about this, as long as they keep an open mind. science changes over a time. the amount of information we continue to have improves the decisions we make. go next to paul, a democratic caller in north carolina. good morning. the commentard

about the fact that acid rain has reduced. and we aret close watching all the trees die. they have proved it is actually gotten worse and it is the result of burning fossil fuel and that is proven. issue the coal industry has embarked on is really a total step backwards. it happened during the bush administration. mountaintop removal, destroying thousands of miles of string bed by pushing the mountain tops off of them. not only that, our river basins -- leaching into our rivers. pleaseergy is hollering, give us more subsidies and money or we cannot clean up our water. the coal industry has literally gone by with murder.

it comest brutal when to getting around the rules. thank you. guest: we would not have the standard of living we have in this country had it not been for fossil fuels and particularly for coal over a long time. we are getting better at this. i disagree with many of the the caller has about the industry. i work with these people on a daily basis. i understand they want things better for their children and grandchildren and they are investing in the future. before we let you go, put your rnc hat on and respond to this headline in the washington times this morning. -- reporting that the polls are hope thatocrats despite trailing in key races, a strong operation can keep their losses to five or fewer. hope that

despite trailing in keyas an rnu make of democrats getting out their vote in the past? jobt: they have done a good . the chairman, the 50 state strategy he had. this will be a difficult election. it will be a close election. thatifference this time is we have been playing on the republican side of the field. believe the republicans have an advantage. it is still up for grabs. it is like a football and it is in the end zone. it looks like we will get to six. out, we doone comes not know for sure. there may be over time here george and the louisiana, that probably will go to runoffs. the 26th.siana, guest: i do not think we will know election night. look at colorado, iowa, north carolina, and the republicans win two of those three and then they will take control of the senate. thanks.l right,

mike duncan, the president and ceo of clean coal commission. next, we will talk with karen white, the political of the national education association. then we will get your thoughts on top issues driving you to the polls next week. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> the student cam video competition is underway. a five to seven minute documentary.

showing how a policy, law, or action by an executive in the judicial branch has affected you and your community. for a list of rules and how to get started, go to student cam.org. collects be part of c-span's 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like is unfazed to get schedules, video clips of key moments, and debate previews from our politics seem -- team. reactionsare your with what the candidates are saying. stay in touch and engage. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >>/journal continues. -- >> washington journal continues.

host: we are back with karen white. is the nea playing this luscious cycle? you can imagine, that is mostly happening in gubernatorial races and mostly, in u.s. senate races this year, which is unusual. we have got 35 of all television ads running on the issue of education. in states like florida, , and maine, where the cuts were billions of dollars out of public education. those are very public races that matter. we are very engaged in those. of those races where the cuts are a big issue is in

kansas. the governor wants to be reelected. how is education playing out in kansas? it hast ha -- guest: been very interesting. he experimented with education cuts and thought about be good for students and a way to balance the state budget. it has not panned out that we for him. students need textbooks and we need smaller class-size is an parents want to make sure their kids have access to everything possible in the classroom. i am a parent myself. i have three kids in the public schools and i want my kids to have afterschool activities, access to those books, and i want to make sure they have a teacher who can pay attention to them without 45 kids in the classroom who want to -- in the classroom. we want to have a good class-size. i think the voters of kansas are seeing that play out. the claim about the largest cut made out of any state. findsay, the fact meter

there is substance at the core of the claim, but the association's version of the events mrs. too much relevant information. the brownback campaign has advanced a narrative that may or may not stand up to precise scrutiny. the major party nominees decided venture that will not fit conveniently into an advertisement. a log will assign for moving too much of 30,000 for students. it represented the one-time shrinkage in spending highlighted for critics and the governor. emphasize slicing appropriations for education in kansas started earlier but smaller con -- smaller chunks very guest: the fact -- smaller chunks. he madehe fact is, cuts. parents and educators have seen those cuts come home to roost.

they see they had larger >> sizes -- larger class sizes. we do not have access to the things they used to peer those cuts make a difference. when doing those cuts in exchange for corporate tax rates or for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, that is when voters and parents speak out because they do not believe those are the right priorities we should have for our kids. >> what about north carolina? what sorts of ads are you running their? -- there? neck andey are all neck and everything has been polarized. down to the boots on the ground. we are excited. educators are going door to door . they're making phone calls and doing things like writing personalized handwritten notes,

which we truly believe will have an impact in this election. when you come home from work and you see the political mail in your mailbox, would you read that or would you actually look at a postcard written by your third grade elementary school teacher who you know personally and is telling you why the issue of education is so critical in the election? host: how many of these are being sent out? guest: hundreds of thousands and probably millions in all states. pennsylvania, north carolina, kansas, hawaii, maine, colorado, anywhere where there is a tentative -- a competitive governor's race and senate race. this is in iowa, where there is also a competitive senate race. this happens be a local state legislative campaign, but members are active up and down the ballot because they know education funding decisions and education decisions for students are made mostly at the local level. goal is 40 million.

how much have you spent so far? guest: i think we will reach the goal. there is one week to go. you runningare advertisements with one week to go? guest: today, i will, talking about candidates from the right wing of the party who want to eliminate parts of education, which would also eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars ng for those who need special ed help and additional education. whether you have a child with autism or a child with a physical disability he needs help -- who needs help getting to the building, we need funding. or eliminate the department of education, then you do not have the funding available across the country. instead of moving forward and making sure we prioritize education, she wants to move acworth and eliminate the department of education.

i honestly thought those days were over a decade ago. but apparently not in iowa. host: who are your donors? educators, school building employees, but strivers, school nurses, teachers in the classroom, college teachers, pre-k. some of them give $100. a big number. some write checks like the corporate billionaires do. so we really have to depend on boots on the ground, but also small contributions. host: your donations are dues? guest: some are and some are voluntary. host: if they could opt out? called from a website "teacher unions expose."

when they could opt out, they did intros. the number of teachers who dropped out when to 6.8%. the number of teachers tripping in washington plummeted. our members are part of the union because it allows them to have a collective voice. when you have people standing together on an arm with each other to make sure they could speak out on behalf of their students, that they can vote in school board and go to their administrator and fight for a lower-class eyes and fight for morph on ning for more tools that they need, that is what makes it powerful that allows them to have the voice collectively. when you have one or two people together, you do not have as loud a voice as you do when you have 3 million. we are in every county in every legislative district, and it allows us to have a powerful voice across the country. host: the topic this morning is teachers and teachers unions. the phone lines are open. --

by the way, the fourth line this morning is for teachers -- let me begin with warren, england nokes, new york. go ahead. i am a retired school teacher for 32 years. team.active in the u.s. we worked very hard to help teachers and students. i believe the charter school movement in new york state is basically an antiunion movement. they do not want unions anywhere near the charter school. the attitude towards labor is horrendous among the charter schools.

one comment, if you would look through the country, school teachers in all 50 states, as aers lives are better result of the union. i am living proof of this. 32 years of teaching, i retired and i do some work in manhattan, and look at my life in comparison to the life of the teachers in the right to work states, like florida, mississippi, louisiana, arkansas, all of these states that are so anti-obama. florida, not so much. they're anti-labor. the labor movement has improved the lives of the worker. one last point here the greatest problem facing our country economically is the eve wrote in middle-class.

why is there an eroding middle-class? of the weakness of the labor movement as compared to 1968, 1970, 1972. host: i have got to leave it there to get in more voices. guest: thank you for your service as an educator for that many years. that is a service. i agree with you that we have eroded the middle-class ability to have a strong and healthy retirement. public2 years of service, i'm glad you were able to do that. i completely agree with you in the middle-class. terms of charter schools, we have to fight to make sure any charles -- charter schools are held accountable to the same standards public schools are held accountable, so they pay the teachers well and they give them benefits they deserve and make sure every student has that

to the tools they need to make sure they have a learning experience they deserve. everyoes not happen in one of those schools and you are right about that, but we have to make sure we hold folks accountable for that as well. host: mike in michigan. i have heard a lot of teachers say that they are very concerned about the union, a lot more concerned than they seem to be with students here my question is i would like to know what measures are in place to ensure that students are not being indoctrinated with union problems? thank you. guest: nice to hear from my home state of michigan and i .ppreciate the call

educators are focusing on a curriculum students need in the curriculum. i have a daughter in annapolis, maryland. they focus on a different rhythm that maybe high school government or civics. educators are focusing on a curriculum students teachers, but they are not focused on union membership. there are this he focused on a high standard curriculum or kids will learn the skills they need to graduate and get into the best colleges in the country. hopefully, they will be able to afford the colleges. the rising level of student debt has been an issue in our field. appreciate your question and hope you have a great day. host: independent, paul. caller: a couple of things. number one is, she said something about, if they did away with the part -- the department of education, the be doing without this and that. no. if you do it without the department of education, from the federal level, and put it back in the state level, then all schools would have more money. you are not sending money to washington, d.c. so some crook could come -- confiscate that my for-profits. be doing without this and that.

for profits. i remember school back where i was and i see how it is done. ever since federal government got involved in the teachers are gettingstudents dumber and dumber every year. just look at the jobs. they cannot add any girl he cannot even read when they get out of school. we have got to do something to fix the problem and i don't care what it is. get our students to work. high-paying jobs. education needs to be changed. guest: thank you for your question. i do disagree with you and i do not think our kids are not as right as you mentioned, but i see students who are members all across the country every day and they have access to a great educator, which thank you for yr question. i do disagree with you and i do

not think our kids are not as right as you mentioned, but i see students who are members all across the country every day and they have access to a great educator, which means they have access to a great education. the problem is and the issue really is the cuts to funding education. instead of funding public schools, somethey cannot governe pennsylvania, maine, wisconsin, michigan, and florida, have decided to give tax breaks to wealthy billionaires. i do not think parents and community leaders and voters and certainly not where teachers and events are very we need to prioritize education. the federal governor's role, that is part of the role and we will always stand behind that. have aaking sure we great public school for every ,tudent, not just for the few but every student regardless of what the zip code is. host: time magazine piece, here is the cover -- some tech people

may have been able to findpennsy to change that. this is a quote from the piece. it seems crazy to one of the tech titans they refer to that teaches in california receive tenure. after less than two years on-the-job and principles are required to lay off the least experienced teachers, in a matter which ones are the best. it is even crazier to him that some take $2000 to fire a teacher who is not doing a good job. the majority of teachers, 98% of every teacher, is doing an incredibly good job under very difficult circumstances. but times have really changed. when you got into education years ago, you did not require kids to fill out a test every single week. my daughter comes home crying every now and then that she has to take a test every week. i check which test it is. it is over testing.

misuse of testing. that has really changed the joy in teaching and the joy in learning for many students across the country. we have to deal with toxic testing, for sure. in terms of the magazine article. they just have some facts wrong. aren't educator who does not have the qualifications to do the job, you have every right to be dismissed and they are across the country. the education association, school boards and administrators, are working hard to see that they can speed the process up and make it the most efficient possible. we also know we have to make sure educators have the ability to advocate for their students. when they go to the school board and say, i have 48 kids in my kindergarten classroom cannot do the job you want me to do without resources, we do not want the teacher to be fired because they came and spoke out against something the administration did not like. that is why it is important to have due process and understand teachers need to have that

voice. is the nea helping to fight the legal challenge? could you explain that to our viewers? yes, we are working to fight that, to make sure educators have the opportunity to have a voice. they are our educators, and not were attorneys, or doctors, or senators, or congressman. school administrators, school secretaries and nurses that know sure a child has a well-rounded education. education make sure has to fight for that and speak up for that. education has to fight for that and speak up for that. they went into the profession because they care about kids more than anything. host: to be clear, what is not right about the time magazine piece? if you have an educator who does not do his job and does not have the qualifications, they should exit the profession and do something else, just like an attorney, or a doctor, or

anybody else who may not be doing their job. a quality teacher in every classroom so every student has access to that quality teacher. we will make sure to fight to make sure they have what they need. to just go tont >> for a month to become a teacher and go into a hard to teach school area. you want a four-year degree, that certification, and you want to understand the craft of teaching and impart knowledge to your students and not just have the technical expertise of science and spanish. you want to have the science of how to teach. that is why it is important that every educator have that background before you get put in the classroom. host: we will delve into this time magazine article tomorrow as part of our spotlight on magazine series. edwards will be here to discuss that tomorrow in our last hour. mike in texas, a republican.

i have a couple of questions. since 10% of income owners in america pay 70% of the federal taxes, what exactly is wrong with tax cuts for billionaires and millionaires? what are they doing wrong? they are job creators, first of all. i am really perplexed why billionaires and millionaires are considered to be the most evil people to ever walk the face of america. thank god for them. it ok forwhy is teachers unions and members to rank-and-file to bully teachers who are conservative? if a conservative teacher were to ever admit to voting for ronald reagan or george bush, they are shunned and humiliated. they are intimidated. i know this has happened.

i since the great depression. a lot of that was due to the made for were education. it is not billionaires and millionaires. they are funding a lot of these campaigns, but there is no

attack on them. so i disagree with you on that. in terms of bullying, i have never seen that happen. candidates who support public education. republican, democrat, or independent. moderate republicans who have supported it has waned. we are working hard to ensure that we educate them on issues that matter most to kids and parents. who wante any of them to focus on important education issues. host: arnold, maryland, you are next, matt. independent. caller: i agree with a lot of stuff you're talking about. think we areg, i forgetting a huge point that i recognized throughout my travels throughout the united states, being a navy guy. parents are not taking responsibility for their children's actions and they are pushing education and learning

versus the schools coming home and creating an environment of learning and love and education. disheartening because the schools are getting the brunt of the blame from parents when their kids act up for school. they attack the system in the school instead of correcting their children and making sure they are molding them into being successful in the educational system. , yourkaren white thoughts? guest: i appreciate you taking the time to call in this morning. obviously have to be engaged in education. we work very hard. educators across the country are in or with parents and pto's. this happened recently in seattle where we are knocking on

doors to get more parents to attend pta meetings so we could explain things happening in the school year. educators and teachers are working as hard as they can to engage more parents. i could not agree with you more, but it is hard when you are a working parent and have kids at multiple levels of school and you come home and you do not have a text look because of the cuts that happened. so you have to get your child to the library to get your child online. it is harder to be a student then to be a parent currently in this country because we are not getting our priorities straight .or funding education karen white has worked on 25 campaigns in 21 states leading in democrats parties grass-roots campaigning and get out the vote efforts. scott on twitter has this --

guest: we should be arguing for smaller class-size is. evidence has shown the more one on one time that you have with a student as a teacher it will the student. we absolutely should be fighting for lower-class sizes and ensure that we're doing it together and that happens all across the country. if you think about it and you walk into a country of second graders and there are 42 kids in the >> and one student may not have eaten breakfast that morning because they do not have the ability to do that, one student may have come from a family that has a mom or dad who works all night and makes sure they are going to bed on time and getting their homework done. one student may not be able to read the backboard -- the blackboard. teachers deal with that every single day in the classroom. and we want toed

make sure students have everything they need to get the job done. if we are dealing with 40 children who are six and seven years old and they have on,erent issues to focus that it's very hard. a classroom of 20, it is easier to give them the attention they need and deserve to get the quality of learning they deserve. good morning and thank you for all that you do for us. in new mexico, we are being driven by a teacher evaluation system that uses a lot of corporate data model. in that model, it is driving many teachers out of there because we are spending 2-3 hours a day on data. you filing a lawsuit on our behalf but what do we do about the corporate reform bringing the business model to public education? greg, thank you for your service as an educator.

and i appreciate you taking the time to call us today. schools are not businesses. they are communities of learning where our children come and expect to be safe, cared for, it taught. texting has gone out of control in terms of the love of teaching and the love of learning. a lot of that is german by corporations trying to corporatetize we should not be trying to make money off of our kids. we should be doing everything we can to provide our kids with the tools they need to succeed in life and go to a good college and good it -- get a great job. that will help the economy grow. when teachers make money, they put money into the economy. with you. that model, that business corporate reform model is not at

all what we need and we have to keep fighting to make sure that we are fighting for learning and for high standards for our kids and not about making money off of every student. we go to our line for democrats. james is watching in fort worth, texas. caller: thank you for c-span and think the unions. we have to look at education as -- the havetem spent the last 40 years unionbusting every industry -- i amthey are looking a first generation baby boomer and i spent 30 years taking a class someplace. because it's a great place to improve your self. i have children and grandchildren who are teachers.

we have to look at ourselves as room within the same every other middle-class human and american. the forces of greed are taking it away and they're trying to see the education system as a place to make profit. please keep up the work. thank you so much. >> thank you, james. there is a lot to do. there's a lot we need to do to continue to fight on behalf of our students. i have three kids. , have a junior in high school a freshman and a third grader. i see what happens in my classroom every single day. i see how they are able to get the skills they need. i see how qualified their teachers are. if we were to take that model and turn it on its head into a corporate model, it would not be in the best interest of our kids. we want major we are making

decisions based on learning and student achievement and what is best for our students. communities need to be supportive of that. we appreciate everything you are doing. we appreciate your service. thank you so much. host: michael on twitter -- guest: is this michael? michael, we will probably spend in the $40 million range. knocking onclude doors, on calls, advertising certain states like michigan, maine, pennsylvania. making sure voters understand what the choices are around public education. we want to support candidates -- they want to support candidates who have cut

billions of dollars from education. we have seen school closures, class sizes, stints go hungry without the free and reduced meal programs. at the expense of corporate tax breaks or tax breaks for billionaires. those are the wrong priorities. i believe that's why we will have a new governor come january. host: the tight senate races are keeping democrats's hopes alive. it could come down to the democrats get out the vote effort. tell us how the mechanism works. how do you go about getting your teachers out? guest: targeting is very important. you want to make sure you are getting out the vote, those you believe are going to be voting for your candidate. we are able to do that through sophisticated tools and models. their voices are very respected.

if someone comes to your door and says i'm karen, i'm from the local republican party versus high, i'm karen, i'm a teacher and i like to talk to you about the importance of this election. you are going to listen to that in a way that i believe is very different than you would somebody from a campaign or for a party. the boots on the ground will be pushing and advocating for us. the door knocks, the personal one-on-one touch. talking to parents, talking to community leaders. matterow that elections and they do have an impact on our student achievement. host: can you tell us what your thoughts are on the ground game in states like north carolina and iowa? are doing a lot in

both of those dates and a lot in the states i mentioned earlier. literally having hundreds of thousands of educators out knocking on doors, talking to importancet the edu of education. one of the things we have seen this year that has been unprecedented is the ads focused on education. 35% of all ads have been focused on education and the interesting thing is they want educators to be the messenger. whether you are running an ad for a republican candidate or democratic candidate or a third-party, everybody wants an educator talking about what matters for kids. our members love doing that, they love being able to talk about the facts. they love being able to lift of their voice up.

we talked about budget cuts. what other issues are cropping up for education voters? guest: class size has become a huge issue. in washington state, they will decide on whether or not they want to reduce class size by funding public education. you have to have more buildings and more educators to allow for smaller class size. it's a ballot measure. people are already voting. they are going to vote to reduce class size, which is very interesting because in washington state, they are 47 out of 50 in class size. toir state has not been able put their priorities into public education funding. their class-size continued to grow and grow. you will see some things like that on the ballot. we are fighting in places like

montana against voter fraud and voter roll back of access to voting. the same-day voter registration law is at stake could we want to make sure that you can vote at any time. make sure you can vote early or vote on election day. we are fighting that as well. there are a couple of minimum wage ballot measures like in arkansas and other states where we want to make sure that we can raise the minimum wage to a fair wage. some people in arkansas make seven dollars and $.50 an hour -- $7.50 an hour. we want to support those issue measures as well. host: mike is a republican. i hear all of this about increasing the minimum wage. it is not a career. it's to get you started in life. classroom anda

you have 30-40 students. give each student a teacher. i have three kids who went to school who graduated. i grew up and did good in school. you sound like you're a democrat. they need to cut a lot of things. if you don't agree with them, you are a racist. what do you want? you want to put one teacher with every student in every classroom? guest: thanks for your question. great point is a for starting in life. it is great for my son who works at a local bargain center and makes minimum wage.

that is fine for a young teenager. mom or a dad or a grandparent taking care of a family and you are 20 years into her career and you still don't have the ability to make more than the minimum wage, you can't provide a safe home or enough food. you can't close your children. a lot of our members filled backpacks every friday to make sure their kids have food over the weekend. run coat drives to make sure that students don't come to school cold. we agree it's a great starting point, but it's not a great wag e when you are 40-60 years old and try to support a family. we need to raise the minimum vibrantthat we have a middle class. -- we needh you that

to grow that. host: gary is a democrat in michigan. caller: i'm a retired custodian of 30 years in the school system. i want to thank the union's for giving me the lifestyle i have now after my retirement. that are nots lucky enough or were not lucky enough to have been in an organization that gives this lifestyle after they get done working. going back to work in their 70's, making minimum wage. just to get by in today's standard. , we thes job creators people are job creators. the more money we make, the more you spend in the more that has

to get the stuff back on the shelves again. guest: thanks for your service. i don't think all of the viewers understand the importance of that work. you really work for your whole career to make schools healthy and clean and safe so that kids could have the best learning environment possible. i'm glad that you are in a position where you can retire and enjoy your family and your grandkids and your friends. that is exactly what should happen after 32 years of hard public service. we want to make sure that anybody who works hard at public service has the ability to retire at a healthy age. thank you for everything that you did while you were a custodian. host: john in michigan. independent caller. caller: hello.

i wanted to make a point about a couple of things. i agree with the comment made before about labels that put people into a thought pattern to receive the message or turn it off. i see what's happening in michigan with the lower wages the teachers receive. my wife is a first grade teacher. $41,000. she used to make considerably more. she survived all the cuts the school went through. they had to fire most of the teachers. i want to say one more thing about our daughter who graduated and is in chicago doing nannying and wanted to go into teaching. my wife said do not do it. does not expect of you pair out for what you get.

she leaves at 7:00 in the morning and gets home at 7:00 at night. guest: thank you to your wife and your daughter and your other family members. cousin who teaches in royal oak. you're right. there have been a lot of cuts to education that have required a lot of teachers to be laid off, which has done harm to students because it has increased class-size and decreased our ability to teach each individual child. it's much harder these days than it used to be because we are teaching in the past. we have so many requirements at the federal, state and local , tols to get a test score get a certain level of a score. every week, some kids take a test.

my kid takes a test every single week and it's too much for a third grader. i appreciate your comments and i really hope we can help americans understand that a child is more than a test score. we have to get back to the basics of education. host: one last phone call. fred from annapolis. democratic or. all you doppreciate regarding pensions and class-size and teacher pay. focus ofnderstand your time and resources on federal elections. congress does not do anything. i do not understand why you all are so interested in what happens at the federal level. guest: fred, nice to see you from annapolis. love the town of annapolis.

80% of oursed resources on state and local resources be at whether it's one of the ballot measures or a gubernatorial race in michigan -- we have been lucky in maryland to have a governor who has been supportive of public education. it's really important that we continue to focus on the basics. have the most impact and students have most impact is at the state and local level. school board elections, legislative elections and gubernatorial races. in terms of our involvement in the united states senate, it's a much smaller percentage. we have members in north carolina like kay hagan who sits on the senate education

committee and is able to have an impact. we do have a small portion of our budget dedicated to some of those as well. host: karen white is the political director for the national education association. thank you for your time. coming up next, we are going to continue with where we started this morning, top issues for you and campaign 2014. a report from the ground in several key states, talking to reporters in north carolina, iowa and louisiana. it is 9:17 eastern time. an update on ebola. the top administration health official. saying local officials are within their legal rights to impose more severe restrictions on people who have possibly been infected with the virus. he refuses to characterize the more stringent action taken by

new york governor anthony cuomo and chris christie as a mistake. test puttingtting forward good faith efforts. the doctor says he believes the federal policy is based on solid science. the second dallas nurse to contracted ebola virus from a patient has a clean bill of health and she is big released from atlanta hospital today. will appear at a news conference this afternoon. duncan --red for, as thomas duncan. the others was released from a hospital for days ago. in washington, plans for ben bradley's funeral are being released. include donaldll graham, bob woodward and quinn

bradley. employees have signed up to go there. for buses have been hired. -- four buses have been hired. watch live coverage on c-span or listen to it on c-span radio. those are the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we will finish up the last hour getting the top issues for you in campaign 2014. start dialing in now. by the way, the washington times --orting this morning looking tight for some of these key senate races. that is keeping democrats'hopes

alive. the have been unable to seal the deal in most of those races. that from the washington times this morning. one of the key senate races is out of north carolina. jim morrill joins us on the phone. where does the race stand? .aller: good morning thir about even. there are two polls who have showing a dead heat.

we have seen more tv ads -- showing no signs of letting up in the last week. host: what is driving them to the polls in every state across the country. north carolina, what are the issues? caller: it depends on who you talk to. on the republican side, trying to make president obama the issue. the threat of isis and threat of ebola. hagan is trying to assemblyation, federal the issue. it's like a mirror image of each other. host: you have this headline

from one of the recent stories. hillary clinton and kay hagan make appeal to women during a recent charlotte rally. why women? are a big factor in this race. enjoyed the gender gap favoring her. women vote more often and more regularly than most people here. they make up a bigger share of registered voters. that could make a difference host. host: what about older voters in north carolina? when impact could they have? caller: they could have a pretty significant impact, too.

the early data i've seen from early voting says the average age of voters was a bit older. older than it had been during the presidential race. which would tend to favor the republicans, i think. although more democrats have voted earlier this point. typically favor republicans. host: and white voters. what about the white vote? thom tillis is going to win that. showed -- kay hagan needs more than that. this race is going to be out the margins. women and older voters,

african-american voters and young voters. yet to get those people out of the margins. kay hagan has had hillary clinton. perry.llis had rick will that have an impact? caller: it fires up the bases. you had. and our governor -- you had rick perry and our governor. today, he is in charlotte with senator mccain and lindsey graham. tomorrow, mitt romney. -- i don't know any other surrogates coming in for her. host: what about campaign ads? i want to show our viewers a couple of them.

let's begin with the freedom partners action fund. they put out a $1 million ad campaign against senator kay hagan. [video clip] obama'sagan claims stimulus would help carolina. it was her family who profited. kay hagan's business got nearly $400,000 in stimulus cash. our tax dollars. what does the company do? funnel the money to another company owned by kay hagan to do the work. host: is that having an impact? caller: it is hard to tell. thom tillis's numbers have gone up. maintainedkay hagan a three point lead in the polls. that was pretty steady.

this week, when they had leveled out, there has to be a reason for that. probably haves played a role. my colleague debunk some of those claims. stuff up at the last minute, it can be effective. host: let's look at one from the other side. [video clip] name.l us your >> i'm doing what i was born to do. i come from a low income family. this scholarship gave me an opportunity to go to college to become a teacher. will -- that scholarship was eliminated under the last budget because of the cuts from thom tillis. he has taken the money we need for our schools giving it to billionaires. is that having an impact?

caller: i don't know about the specific ad. it's one of a series of ads like that. they raised teacher pay but it still below the national average. there have been some questionable decisions about education in the legislature. that is firing up the democratic base. host: what are you watching for in the closing days? surprises.e october thedoing a story about campaign within a campaign aimed at african-american voters on the radio. there are some pretty inflammatory ads on both sides in that area. host: we will be watching. thank you very much for your time.

let's go to your thoughts this morning on the top issues in campaign 2014. david in maryland. independent. good morning. let me move on to joe in columbia, south carolina. democrat caller. good morning. all the mudslinging in south carolina -- too much mudslinging. i hope they deal with the issues. i'm originally from new york. tooved to carolina due finances. a large concern among african-americans.

, it wasfrom the north more for concern. i'm hoping young -- i don'tricans hear too much about him. tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. we will have that south carolina senate debate between tim scott and joyce dickerson and jill bossi. you can watch that debate take place. following that, we will have the new hampshire fourth district debate. that debate took place earlier this month. we will be reairing it tonight.

we go to margaret in chapel hill, tennessee. caller: good morning. peopleant to say is most change the channel. he said $100 million spent on one race? we need to use the gout against united by voting for those who spend the least. -- we need to speak out against citizens united. host: for you, the campaign-finance is the big issue. caller: they are so snarky on these ads. we have more independents than we did before this 2000 election. many jumped ship in 2004 in 2008. the parties are not as they used to be.

host: you might be just in this washington times piece about colorado. washingtoned in this times piece about colorado. money doesn't talk in colorado. whenr: that is fine gerrymandering does not figure into this.

once it gets circled up for you want to vote for, you don't need the money. we go to dan in charlotte, north carolina. republican. caller: a couple of things. the $100talking about million. if you analyze that, harry reid's pac has spent more on the democrat side. the democrats have gotten more money from pacs than republicans did. you talk about the corruption with kay hagan. we just had a mayor in charlotte spending time in prison for taking money under the table. the corruption charges will mean something to people in charlotte.

it upset a lot of people. you had karen with the nea talking about class sizes. i don't know how the nea can immigrantsring and say let's try to lower class sizes. if you are for lower class sizes, you have to be for securing our border. int: you might be interested our newsmaker program. we talked with the senate majority campaign director. go to c-span.org if you missed that. how much they plan to spend and will spend and what they are planning in these closing days. let's go to th nicole in ohio. independent.

top issues for you. caller: my top issue is how much my congressman or ping attention to foreign aid. it's a top priority every year. it contributes a lot to our national security. with everything going on in , the like syria and isis recent health-related issues lick ebola -- like ebola, foreign aid should be bumped up and be considered a priority by our representatives. host: christine and florida. democratic caller. caller: think you so much. --aw an interview recently he spent $70,000 for his campaign.

that is something to think about. i'm a retired guidance counselor. i come from a family of educators and i have to admit, my family told me please vote democrat. we care about people. my concernsyears -- are education, the minimum wage, our infrastructure and taking care of our wildlife. i'm really concerned about the malaise in the apathy of our nation towards our youth in the middle class. i counsel students and their families. they had been in dire straits. they receive more bullying as they ask for help. that's what i'm voting for. families,ut our

especially our youth. host: darrell in new york. democratic caller. caller: good morning. i'm for education and jobs. have called relatives in several key states and say make sure you guys go out and vote. areeems like white folks angry at barack obama more than any of the issues. after blocking almost everything he tried to do. i don't understand how people still support that. lou in asheville, north carolina. caller: good morning. spint to put a different -- the spending is outrageous. awould like to throw

different spin on all of this education talk. my wife teaches that a couple of colleges. board of the national the department of education. greenfield and there was a lady from detroit standing in line. saying iuite loud taught for 40 years. i would not advocate anyone going into teaching today. in north carolina, they have cut the budget and all that. there is no money nationally. between thom tillis and kay hagan, the country has been ripped off. eating each other in the

process. host: we want to continue to get your thoughts this morning on the top issues for you in campaign 2014. keep dialing in. we want to go now to iowa where jennifer jacobs is joining us on the phone. talking about the iowa senate race. another closely watched race for control of the senate. let's begin with the status. what are the polls showing? caller: definitely a tossup. there are so many polls coming out now, we will see one every day. the nbc news poll on sunday showed joni ernst is up. there's a college poll that people will be looking for today. you are referring to the

republican over the democrat. this is being seen as one of the more colorful races for the senate. their personalth stories and thinks that have happened. i want to show our viewers a couple of ads. [video clip] let's go for a walk. >> no way. we almost got sued. remember chilling by bruce braley's vacation home? he threatened to sue over that. he wants to be in iowa senator and he threatens to sue over us. over chickens. >> not very neighborly. >> not very iowa. it's a mess. noisy.sy -- dirty,

not this lot. the one in washington. too many typical politicians. it's time to stop spending money we don't haven i approved this e p the mess in washington is going to take a lot of iowa common sense. host: jennifer jacobs joining us from iowa this morning. how is this playing in iowa? caller: they roll their eyes at talk.rm democrat, you see those joni ernst references. it gets on their nerves. liberal and you see , it gets onican ads your nerves.

these negative campaigns work. we are exposed to so many political ads. iowans are more likely to believe negative ads. issues areother playing out in this election? are those the primary ones? caller: not at all. bruce braley's top issue is social security and abortion in the minimum wage. joni ernst is talking about the iowa way, which has to do with the iowa economy. we have a balanced budget. she says she has been removing regulations. she calls that the iowa way. to play upy tends

the social issues. joni ernst has been focusing ande on military economic issues. host: i want to show our viewers a couple of ads for bruce braley. [video clip] >> this election is not about joni ernst or me. it's about who will be best for iowa. iowa has lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs. joni ernst wants to keep skipping tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. i sate has to stop. we need to eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource their jobs. future corporations don't need a senator, you do. about social security. joni ernst talks about privatizing it. ernst is so extreme, she

risks senior retirement on the stock market. bruce braley stood up to those trying to privatize social security. he will protect social security for all of us. let's take that last ad. airing that with one week to go. what does that tell you? caller: the negative ads always -- they are worried whenever negative ads and say they're worried, for sure. is national democratic party spending the most. nearly the same amount of spending on the republican side, too.

joni ernst has been the biggest target of negative ads in iowa. host: what about the female vote? iowa could be electing their first female to congress. connecting with female voters in iowa? caller: with some, but definitely not as many as she would like to. iowaoes better with men in than with women. i know the campaign has been tried to work on that. they have a force of women who promote her on a regular basis, including our lieutenant governor. the: you talked about outside money coming from democrats. where the outside money for republicans coming from? which group? caller: the karl rove money coming in. the koch brothers money coming in. those are the big ones.

the national republicans. host: with one week to go, what will you be watching for? caller: i will be watching to see if the democrats can continue playing up the social issues. i they believe that's what will get people off the couch. if there are any mistakes in these final weeks. , we: jennifer jacobs appreciate your time. back to your calls about campaign 2014 and what issues matter to you. nate in kansas. independent. good morning. caller: good morning. , the way the votes are going -- i don't lean

republican or democrat. bigotse so many white voting not against the candidates, but voting against the president. what happens is even the senate people -- they don't have enough respect the title of the president of the united states. steve in south carolina. independent. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. for this lifelong independent voter, the most important issue in this election is that harry reid has changed the 200-year-old rules in the senate to make it possible to confirm a judge to a lifelong appointment on the federal bench with only

51 votes. if republicans do not regain control of the senate, --re are federal judiciary the federal judiciary will be packed with left-wing activist who will undermine our constitution and the rule of law itself. once appointed, it's almost impossible to impeach and remove a federal judge from the bench. this will hurt our country for decades to come. i don't like republicans, but i'm praying that they regain control of the senate. the entire country will pay the price for decades if obama is allowed to pack the federal bench. host: do you like tim scott? caller: i love him. i'm looking forward to voting

for him on tuesday. host: kathryn in california. independent caller. theer: i'm calling because governor of this state and the attorney general are both running for office. -- i doe the president hold the president responsible s of the two shot and killed by an illegal alien who had been deported twice from the country. it is scary to see what's happening. we need to close the border because we are inundated with illegals, drugs, gangs and the mexican mafia. it is tragic. jackson, tennessee.

ted is an independent caller. they won't lower the interest rate on their loans. they blocked that. then they don't want to raise the minimum wage? all you have to do is look at the history. leads peoplewage to social programs. billion last$119 year? it won't hurt them a bit. host: politico has this story this morning. democrats are winning on a minimum wage. for republicans, it's the wedge issue. support for raising the minimum

wage is resonating with voters. poll earlier this year found 90% of democrats and 53% of republicans favored raising them in wage -- the minimum wage. let's go to darrell in georgia. democratic caller. caller: good morning, c-span. i would be more than happy to see the minimum wage raised. -- how can a family live off $7.50 an hour? -- i'm agoing on veteran myself.

if you sense soldiers over there ,- send it soldiers over there they will declare world war iii. is a recent gallup poll that found that u.s. voters are giving the gop an edge on handling top issues. holding a significant lead over the democrats on four of the six issues. we have about 10 minutes left here.

getting your thoughts on the top issues for you and campaign 2014. we get to more of your calls. joining us from louisiana this is the capital news bureau reporter for the advocate. talking about the senate race between mary landrieu and bill cassidy. also, the independent candidate running as well. several other candidates on the ballot. poll,ing to the latest it's headed for a runoff. do you agree? caller: that's what it looks like right now. that is the game plan they are taking. he is not the incumbent, but he is running an incumbent race. the next debate is tomorrow night. one of only two debates he is

participating in. host: there are nine candidates total on this ballot. what's going on? louisiana is very different. it has a jungle primary. everyone runs together in the top two vote getters go on if nobody gets 50%. mary landrieu will get the most next week. that's what the polls are showing. nobody is going to have enough to crack into the 50%. it looks like it is headed for a runoff. had tons of -- you can't watch tv without getting bombarded with campaign ads.

it is really interesting, a lot of it is senator landrieu being a democrat. a lot of it is on president barack obama. directly to him. host: has that been impacting her ability to get over that 50%? or is it her record? caller: it certainly is obama. that is what every campaign event, every commercial is about. you would think barack obama is going to be on the ballot with the way it's being campaigned. debateght, there was a between senator landrieu and robert maness.

former president bill clinton was in louisiana yesterday. campaigning for send her landrieu, asking voters to get out and vote. will that work? caller: that was last monday. it's interesting, it was the second event he has been at here. the first one was more private. if fundraiser in new orleans. this one was in baton rouge. you had to go and rsvp on their site. it was packed. about 1000 people there. probably a bit more than that. -- johne been pulling mccain was out for bill cassidy.

it is drawing a lot of attention. we will see how it gets. is up aw, early voting bit from past years. about 200,000 people have early voted at this point. i guess we will see how much the big names are drawing out. how much money is being spent on this race? demographics to watch for? caller: gosh. i have not looked at the amount spent. was the most, it expensive race in the country. millions of dollars being poured into it right now. itis not worth tracking because they're constantly

running ads on tv. ho all to figure out w these groups are. the last poll showed 14% undecided. it's finding out who those undecided voters are. mattere ads streaming in to them? host: we appreciate your time. we are going to squeeze one last phone call in. en in birmingham, alabama. democratic caller. what issues matter for you? caller: good morning. is issues that matter to me everything president barack obama talked about. he went out on the rally and spoke about.

as an african-american woman, i'm outraged at these white that were not supporting voting for this president. a lot of these people came in on the back of president barack obama. we are going to get out and vote. they will pay for this later because we are outraged. have a great day. host: thanks for all the calls this morning. we will be back here tomorrow morning. more of your phone calls, tweets and e-mails. thanks for watching. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] ♪

>> c-span's coverage of campaign 2014 continues tonight with two debates. the new jersey senate race and the debate between cory booker and jeff bell. you can follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. 9:00, south carolina's u.s. senate race. faces joyce dickerson and jill bossi. you can weigh in on twitter and facebook. this morning, and look politico and the south dakota senate race. some of the latest polls came -- canceling plans for $350,000 worth of ads in the race.

they had planned on spending $2 million in south dakota. race justed a tighter a few weeks ago. the former governor initially refused to run attack ads. challengers are larry pressler and rick weiland. you will have their debate on c-span two. in massachusetts last night the candidates running for governor i had a debate. we will take a look at the ads airing in massachusetts and then show their one-hour debate held in worcester. with ourtreet gamble money and destroyed so many lives. we cannot let that happen again. tax cuts for corporations. we all have different views. we need an economy where everyone gets a fair shot.