i am disappointed and ashamed of my republican friends allowing this to continue. i wish we would step up. one of the problems -- one of your people pointed out 27% voted in the last election that gave republicans a seemingly served majority. that is a fallacy that will either operate as mr. whit ayres pointed out. host: who do you think you are leaning towards in 2016? caller: i do not vote on the social issues that people want to hammer and pick on women. they want to pick on gay people. they want to pick on the elderly. i am a george pataki guy at this point in time. i hope they will be a window there. i don't see how we could make good progress. so much in the south is hell-bent to be bigots and racists. the tea party crowd has driven

the republican party to the brink of the end of the world. host: how did you get from indiana to tennessee? caller: i live in the tri-state area. i live across the line in georgia. i am 8 miles from chattanooga. everything is chattanooga. i am a native of this area. i went to school at anderson university a christian college the first church of god. i follow my faith and church. host: alex in chattanooga tennessee, or northern georgia as he indicated. stewart is in florida. democrat. caller: how are you doing? i would like to say thank you to the gentleman from tennessee speaking about the republican party. i served less than 30 years in the military, i'm an entrepreneur doing very, very well. i don't get where people do not

understand that you have to give back to those less fortunate. that is why i love president obama. i think you go down as a great man. with all of the -- that he gets today saying that he wasn't born in this country and the other gentleman saying that he is biracial. i drive an expensive vehicle and people think they can say racist things to me where i get my car maintenanced. i am appalled. i will listen it a lady from michigan who said let's take our country back. what do she mean? she never served a day in uniform with wounded warriors and disabled veterans. it is a shame that people continue to say this undertone of racist stuff about, let me take my country back. we are all americans. host: thank you sir.

from the wall street journal bush leans on his gun rights bona fides. this is about the national rifle association meeting and their convention in nashville where jeb bush will be speaking. not attending a senator rand paul because of a scheduling conflict. top officials are unhappy. mr. paul has lent his name to the association his -- to the association for years. barry in michigan, a republican. you get the last word, mary. caller: two topics. the world has changed as far as communication. i would like to see us go to a popular vote versus the electoral college. there is no reason cannot have everybody's vote count.

especially with things like the money going into the election. the other thing, we talk about reducing the government. we have a town, county, and state government. why do we need 430 five representatives. in the state of texas -- host: we have to stop there. we're going live for the center of american progress with governor terry mcauliffe talking about investments in early childhood education. there is governor mcauliffe. this is live. tanden: good morning. i am neera tanden and him thrilled to have governor mcauliffe discussing the value of communities taking action on early childhood education. we are happy to have him here at the center for american progress. he has been a leader on this issue and other issues.

early childhood education is a bright spot in our landscape bringing together diverse leaders at the city, state, and federal level. at the state and local level we have bipartisan leaders that have been focusing on these issues. i believe that is because there has been incredible data points on the return on investment we get from early learning. early childhood programs even the playing field for children as they begin kindergarten, it also builds a work force driving future economic growth and ensuring american businesses remain globally competitive. that is why president obama has called for more investment in early education. in september he brought together policymakers, mayors superintendents, as advocates to discuss the importance of early education and harness additional funds.

the next steps are to help implement these proposals. state and local leaders have rushed to answer the call. states like vince of a net georgia, virginia, boston, indianapolis have increased funding and expanded access. we are thrilled to have leaders from those communities here today. i am honored to introduce governor mcauliffe who has focused on investments in early education. it is from that perspective of human capital that we know virginia is growing very strongly. it had its lowest unemployment rate in 15 years at 4.7%. congratulations. [applause] tanden: i think when you have leaders that are focusing on the long-term and ensuring that

businesses will have their human capital needs met not only now but into the future, that is where early learning and early investment banks sense. if you're investing in k-12 eight makes sense to invest in the early years as well. we know that is the start kids need. we are honored to have governor mcauliffe here. he understands prioritizing early childhood programs is essential to the virginia economy in the 21st century and has been instrumental in securing 17 point $5 million in preschool expansion grants from the department of education of allowing the commonwealth to serve additional students at risk. 4-year-old's. high-quality preschool classes in the first year. we thought it would be critical to have his voice here, because he understands this as a governor, as a former business leader, a community leader, and as someone who recognizes this is not just an important issue

now, but well into the future. governor mcauliffe? [applause] governor mcauliffe: it is honored to be here. i think the center for american progress by inviting us here today. i have my deputy secretary here as well. this is a very important topic for us in the commonwealth of virginia and i would make the argument to the entire country. early childhood investment in education. i make the argument it will determine the workforce you will have for years to come. if you're going to be competitive in a global economy you should start early. it is an investment. when i became governor i inherited a $2.4 billion deficit to work through. to convince folks to say take money and invest here and try and close a gigantic budget

deficit is sometimes challenging . we were able to do it because we made the point this is an investment. an investment that will return over and over. your timing could not have been more important. this is an important issue for virginia, and i would make the argument for the entire country. we have made progress in the commonwealth, and have work to do going forward. when i ran for the governor in virginia one of my promises was investment in pre-k early childhood development. i thought it was important. it was one of the main things i ran on with work or's development and diversifying the economy. i knew i would face headwinds. there were only 32 out of 100 democrats in our house of delegates. i knew i had a challenge. the head of the house of delegates told me that pre-k is a waste of money and something

they were not interested in. i knew i had a challenge ahead of me. for me, what i had to do was encapsulate early childhood development into growing and diversifying the economy. virginia is the number one recipient in department of defense dollars in the country. we have the largest naval base in the world. we have so many military assets. the pentagon, the cia, quantico. cutting back is a dramatic impact on our community. sequestration is a big marker for virginia and could have a crippling effect on the economy. i worked with the general assembly to say we have to diversify and grow the economy, become less reliant on the federal government, and build new diversified 21st century at economies. human genome sequencing, cyber security, the jobs of the future.

it comes down to education. when do you start on education? if this is something that was important as we go forward to build the new economy and bring in new jobs. we have been very successful in virginia. low unemployment. we have done 300 51 economic development projects. six point four $4 billion of direct investment into virginia not that anyone is counting, but that is doubled in a governor in virginia history. with job success of economic development fortunate forged a bipartisan relationship with the general assembly who realized i was creating jobs. we have made tremendous progress in 14 months. i talk about the new virginia economy. it is not only education.

we had onerous legislation relating to women's issues when i became governor. we ended that. they were going to shut down 18 women's health clinics, that is gone. i try to make virginia open and welcome to everyone. i was the first southern candidate to come out for gay marriage. i have an executive order allowing gay couples to adopt. i'm the first governor to perform gay marriage and the sky did not fall in. if you want to come to virginia, start a business, we want you. to make it open and welcoming. we face challenges historically, and virginia on education. i recognize we have a lot to do in virginia. 52% of 3-year-old and four-year-olds were not in school. among 3-year-old's and

four-year-olds in households with incomes below $20,000 60% of the children were not in school. as i stood in the state of the commonwealth address in january, if we are going to lead in a global economy we can't wait until students reach kindergarten to prepare them for economic success. research tells us that 90% of a child's brain development goes on between birth and five years old. the point i'm trying to make is that it's not pick winners and losers at first. your future should not be dependent on your parent's financial condition or zip code. we should allow every child have early childhood success. if we don't maximize learning in those early years, i realized that these children will not reach their full potential. as a business person i can tell you that if you invest early, it saves you money on the back end.

that is not only an investment it is a cost-saving measure giving us the tools to be successful. 70% of 4-year-old in virginia are not enrolled in publicly financed preschool programs. more than one third of our young children live in economically depressed communities. we need a new generation of well educated high skilled workers. southside southwest, the loss of coal textiles, furniture, and tobacco. these areas have been ravaged by jobs going overseas, it changes in economic conditions. we have to bring businesses into these communities. you can't do that unless you have a highly educated workforce. that workforce, in the rural areas of virginia starts in pre-k.

i've done everything i can to expand pre-k initiatives. the first is the partnership with the business community. i would argue that every elected official and who argues for preschool why we have been successful in virginia is the virginia chamber and most community leaders have come out wholeheartedly is in support of the pre-k initiative. our virginia chamber of commerce , it is fair to say, is not the most liberal organization ever put together. it has wholeheartedly supported my efforts. they came out with a blueprint for genia with the number one goal from the chamber of commerce being early childhood preschool involvement. to have the business community hand in hand with us has made a tremendous opportunity for us to work with the legislature. we need to go to the legislature to get funding to do the

programs we have. our top corporate leaders recognize and for geni -- in virginia we will need workers to support our economic growth. we have businesses that have come in. 351 new projects. i was one of the most travel governors last year. china, japan, korea europe. we just one 2000 more jobs. i opened a new plant in appomattox where i was yesterday. the 150th anniversary. 150 years ago lee and grant ended the civil war. i was there. we brought a company back from

china. the largest deal done in 44 years in appomattox virginia. we brought back an old shuttered furniture company. we reopen that facility and turned it into a manufacturing facility. that manufacturing facility is making pollution control devices. we are taking those pollution control devices to our report which is the deepest on the east coast, and shipping them back to china and selling it to china. you want to talk about a new economy, this is the new virginia economy. i was able to convince the chinese ceos that we had a workforce that you will have 20 years from today. you will not invest in a state unless you are convinced that there is a workforce for 30 years. >> we are having video difficulty with our event at the center for american progress

with virginia governor terry mcauliffe. we are working on the problem and hope to have it fixed shortly. in the meantime we will show you one of our recent student winners. >> during this month c-span is pleased to present the winning entries in this year's student cam documentary competition. the annual competition encouraging middle and high school students to think critically about issues affecting the nation. students created a documentary based on the theme the three bridges and you to demonstrate how a policy, law, or action from the three branches of government has affected them or their community. from winter park high school in florida they are the second prize winner. they focused on national parks and waterways. >> this is the river.

seconds from the been path wise 40,000 acres of rich abundant ecosystems. it has remained one of central florida's most desired natural resources. with all of the attention, the men and women caring for the part on the local level maintain a pristine environment of the state park. it is beautiful and fragile. mostly it is wild and scenic. the source of the 60 mile long river is here. it is fed by freshwater. we spoke to a park manager who

clued us in how important the spring is to the state park. >> when you look at the acreage 95% of our visitors come here for the springs. people come in in the summer to enjoy the water and cool off. to have a barbecue on the hill. >> they wanted the trade-off of having so many visitors at the park? >> anytime you have people the national system is impacted. every footprint leaves a mark on the ecosystem. it is a balance between the use of people and protecting the resource. that is an ongoing thing. >> have you walk the fine line between restoration and recreation? >> filling in the potholes on the road. a wide range of activities the rangers do. prescribed learning to promote healthy growth in the ecosystem.

a healthy clean spring to swim in. that is the main thing we are after. >> this is something we tackle day today. the long term struggle between two major sources. >> the high demand for water in growing areas has depleted some of the flow into the springs. fertilizers and man-made chemicals that get into the water from houses and people in the area also contribute to the growth of algae and exotic vegetation that is good for the spring. >> what exotic species has been a problem for florida's waters besides hydro? >> it is an exotic species introduced into that water system. it grows and overtakes the native vegetation. >> to understand more about why

htfhydrilla is a threat we spoke to a biologist. >> category two altars ecosystems. category one displaces native's. even here, with a little piece if it breaks off like a problem that we have had in the lagoon, the water takes a downstream and it finds a place to attach. it grows so well and prolific that it thrives on high nutrients, sunlight, the environment is perfect. >> we are conducive to it. warm water. >> these conditions are made

worse by the presence of chemical runoff. from the springs and the surrounding community. >> hydrilla is a plant. you're putting fertilizer on it by having nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. >> ecosystems across much of the southeast has experienced this combination. federal, state and local governments are creating specific pollution regulations. one regulation is an outline over growing water concerns in florida. the epa created new numeric water quality criteria to replace the former narrative of valuation used by many state parks. the regulation puts limit on phosphors and nitrates in the water. >> if we keep letting phosphors go up, no one wants to swim in that. >> the senator from wyoming says

too much regulation could be a bad thing. >> the report shows the regulations are undermining the work being done at the state level to manage lands and natural resources and protecting our air and water. >> this is not appear to be the case here. they champion the commitment of the state and federal government to preserving the effort. >> we have had good cooperation with the federal level. >> there is money for the feds to help the park of that need it? >> between all the agencies involved the federal epa state and county governments, there are a lot of regulations thing put in and enforced to maintain the health of the river. >> part of the reason why the river has been so well maintained is cooperation of various agencies in florida. >> they spray the plants was

saltwater and tries them out and kills them. it will last four years or so. >> having the relationships with each other and helping each other when we need it. >> in the end the driving force behind the river is the residents and visitors. >> if something terrible were to happen to it it would break my heart. >> i think we have good people scientifically and politically working on it. we have many agencies cooperating together. i think, the way forward, is going to be up. >> to watch the winning videos and learn more about the competition go to www.c-span.org and click on student cam. tell us what you think about the issues the students addressed in

the documentary on facebook and twitter. >> we were covering the comments of virginia governor terry mcauliffe and washington on early childhood education. we had difficulty, but will have it later in the program. also online at www.c-span.org. the live programming continues at noon as the cato institute talks about u.s. tax policy on c-span. we have been introducing you to the newest members of the 114th congress. tonight we are profiling ryan zinke he. here is a preview. >> being a congressman sometimes is more difficult than being a seal. as a seal you can watch things get done. you can engage. you have a terrific team around you. you have the resources to win

and can watch progress being made. on the hill, under the current polarization, there is progress being made. it is fixable. progress is not as rapid as you would like. you have to make sure that you exercise patience. some of it is just political rhetoric. some people do not want the facts, do not care about the facts. the only thing they care about is an agenda. i never looked through a red white, or blue lens. it is always been red white and blue. as a seal commander i never asked the political affiliation of the folks around me. all i cared about was how good they were. were they skilled, committed, have the right training? did they have the right grit

to do what was necessary? >> that is coming up tonight at 9:00. our road to the white house coverage continues with jim webb and martin o'malley. they are at the polk county democrats award dinner in des moines. that will be live at 8:00 eastern. word is hillary clinton will announce her candidacy. the hill is expecting the announcement to come on sunday over social media. more details as we get them. florida senator marco rubio will be the third republican to announce his candidacy for president on monday afternoon. we will have that live on c-span at 5:30 eastern. >> here are some future programs for this weekend. on the c-span network. on c-span2, saturday at 10:00 p.m.. presidents for american tax

reform grover norquist says americans are tired of our tax system. sunday night at 8:00 either susan butler on president franklin roosevelt and stalin allies during world war ii and the partnership beyond the war. saturday night on 8:00 eastern on american history tv on c-span3, the university of virginia college of wise professor jennifer murray on how civil war reunions have changed from the reconstruction era until the present. american history television is live from the appomattox courthouse historical park commemorating the 150th anniversary of the confederate surrender and the end of the civil war. >> from this morning's washington journal a conversation last weekend's shooting in south carolina and a report on the state of black america. host: on your screen is former

new mayor marc morial. thank you for being with us. we are discussing the new urban league report. this is the 2015 a of black america report. before we get into the report, i want to ask you what do you think of the response in south carolina to the shooting of mr. scott? guest: the important thing is that the family and the lawyers are conducting themselves with absolute dignity and professionalism in how they have responded to the death of a loved one. number two, the local officials risk wanted very quickly once presented with evidence and the evidence was the videotape.

it they responded to fire the officer and two book him on charges. in that respect, this case is very different from prior cases where there was a long time. in ferguson there was a local denial before there was an investigation. there was not an indictment. what stunning about this case is we not only witnessed this awful incident, this shooting of a man who was fleeing, we also saw the effort to cover it up instinctively. that was deeply troubling. the effort to plant the taser at the person's body.

the police reports the written by the other officers who said it that they had administered aid to the dying man when he videotape indicates that's not the case. there is the tragedy of the death, but there are these actions taken by the police before the videotape surfaced. now there is another video of dash cam that shows that mr. scott fled. that was not the right thing to do. that does not justify him being shot in the back and killed while fleeing. this is another one of these incidents that we're going to have a big debate. the bottom line is there was an excessive and unnecessary and the illegal use of force against mr. scott.

because of a traffic stop, he is dead. host: as a former mayor, how you approach that? guest: it's important that local officials have to work to be in communication with the community. they need to be introspective. when ever incidents this happen, a mayor will say do i have a larger problem with my police department or is this an aberrational incident? is this an unfortunate incident that are training or our approach, if i were looking at this with the evidence, i would be troubled at the cover-up. that might lead me to independently review the last three to five years of prior incidents of conflict between

the police and citizens in my community. there is information out there there are a large lawsuits that have been filed against the north charleston police department. we cannot speak to the merits of those suits. 40 sounds like a large number to me. given the size of north charleston, i think you're going to see the just department look at the specifics. they will have to examine the actions of this police department. right now, there are greater than 10 departments, it may be closer to 20" that are under federal consent.

this speaks to the idea that this broader problem of police/ community relations and the use of excessive force and brutality, we may see the tip of the iceberg and we have a broader systemic challenge in this nation when it comes to policing. let's not take away the idea that many police officers are hard-working honest, competent will do the right thing. as with any industry or important institution, a few bad apples can not only spoil the bunch, the cover-up speaks to not just incidents, but a question of culture.

this is an important conversation for us to have in america. host: as the mayor of new orleans, the jew face similar issues at all? caller:guest: we face the time that was clearly broken. we had 400 murders a year. we had a federal criminal investigation for corruption and brutality. i took it as a charge to lead a reform effort. on corruption, that turned to some extent on race. i think one must grab the bull by the horns as i think we did in new orleans.

five to six years later we had an accredited police department and brought the murder rate down by some 60% and we reduced the number of civil rights violations to a very small number. we changed that department. it took a lot of work, broad community coalition, house cleaning, some 50 to 60 officers were terminated. it took a very, very good new police chief i hired, richard pennington who helped me with effort support from the business and religious communities and elected officials. it took changes in state law local policy, increases in police pay, upgrading of equipment. it took a broad effort but it paid important dividends in new orleans in the 1990's. it is tragic that after richard pennington and i left in 2002, the department retrenched to the extent that it is currently now under a consent decree with the

department of justice. so leadership counts, community effort counts. i think local elected officials who may be watching, mayor, city councilman county commissioners, if you have a local law enforcement agency, you need to look at it very closely, very carefully. examine whether you have issues challenges, or problems. if you do, work to fix it. host:1 in the national --marc morial in the national league of 2016. easy the economic recovery has become a tale of two nations. what do you mean? guest: the economic recovery, which we certainly can applaud. the idea that we have had this incredible strength of job creation. the largest, if you will consistent. -- consistent period of jobs

being created since the 1970's is something that is noteworthy and we applaud. when we look at this closely carefully, and examine it, we found that amongst the top 70 cities or 70 largest cities in america, there were 33 of those cities, almost half, not quite half, that have black unemployment rates exceeding 15% and seven that have black unemployment rates exceeding 20%, including a number of cities, chicago, toledo, cleveland, in the midwest particularly that have high unemployment rates. these unemployment levels, 15, 17, 20, 21 23%, and portions of these cities in the black community in many of these communities is still a recession era environment. the job creation has not reached everyone and that requires

attention of everyone to ask why is this occurring and ask why is this to some extent a deviation from prior patterns. most economic recoveries we have lives are votes. this economic recovery is leaving -- lifting votes but leaving many behind. for the hispanic community we look at those, too. you have a mixed bag. you have double-digit latino unemployment in many communities across the nation, but there are a few where the rate is now in single digits albeit higher than it is in the mainstream white america. you've got this tale of two nations in this recovery era and this requires us to really put it out there and talk about it to let people know that while we can applaud job creation in the recovery, there are large

portions of the community being left behind. host: i want to run through some statistics that you have in your report beginning with the unemployment rate. african-americans, 10%. whites, 4.9%. household incomes -- african-americans-$34,815. whites 57,000 687,000. poverty level for african-americans, with the 7.6%. whites, 11.1%. median wealth, african-americans, $6,314 as compared to whites with $110,500. guest: wide disparities. i think these numbers tell a story and i would say that the listeners when people hear these

numbers, to some it might be a shock, to some it might be surprised. two others it may not be a shock or surprise, but our obligation has been out for almost 40 years to speak the facts on these very significant disparities. i would say if you think about it and you talk about the wealth gap in this country, that wealth gap has actually widened somewhat post the recession because for most americans their wealth has historically been tied up in the equity in their homes. for african-americans, almost disproportionately, their wealth was centered around equity in their homes. as the bank and foreclosure crisis raged, the homeownership rate of months african-americans -- amongst african-americans declined. they declined across the board because the recession hit every

community, but it hit the black community in a much more significant and dramatically. now, the black home ownership rate which had almost gotten to 50% is now down in the low 40% 42%, 43%, give or take a couple of tenths of a percentage point. when you think of it rebuilding wealth, and wealth is important because it is an important moment of economic -- of economic and family opportunities. you need to help your family and children, and it is usually the initial capital that many people use, equity in one some, to start a small business, to put kids through college. we've got to make sure that as we reformed the banking system that it is not reforming the way. i think that cuts off access to credit for homeownership, for communities that suffer greatly by the recession. building a strong homeownership climate and culture in the future is still an essential

element and a key to the american dream. host: marc morial is our guest, the head of the national urban league and former mayor of new orleans. we are talking about the urban league's 2015 report on black america. which in the cover letter that mr. marc morial put on the report, he says that these are the times when the collective consciousness of the people also unapologetically screams that it is time for a change. back in providence, -- back in providence, rhode island. republican line. caller: good morning. i am a retired stock and bond broker and the gentleman there talking about that and i was fortunate, i was trained by a couple of jewish men, and they told me jack, this is going back, starting in 1975. god rest their souls, you've got

to bring value to the table. i never forgot that, so i spent 30 years in the industry and it all right. you have to bring skill sets to the table in order to get people out of poverty. the only skill set i had was to speak, so i could talk. for example, if you know a very good welder or very good with scientific mathematics, you bring value to the table. without that, i don't care who is in the white house, barack obama or george bush, it is not going to matter. you know i am right, marc morial . one statistic i am surprised you did not put in the, my wife is chinese, the lowest unemployment rate is the asian community. and the lows -- they have the lowest unemployment rate.

but those statistics are rarely put out. host: all right, let's get a response from our guest. guest: we are looking at including asian statistics in our reports in the future. the data port agents is not as easily or read of the available as it is for african-americans whites, and even recently can we get the type of data -- really look at 300 datasets for our report for the latino community. there is no doubt. yet, look, bringing something to the table. everybody brings their god-given talent, their hard work, the responsibility to the table. many of the unemployed people in the country are people who were employed, who do have skills for whom the structure of the economy has affected them. we had a lot of manufacturing jobs in the midwest. people who would trained to work in that sector, who had careers in that sector when the economy

retracted, many of the jobs moved into other regions of the country. they moved overseas, and many of these individuals were left, if you will, holding the bag with no opportunity, finding themselves in their 40's or 50's with the need to find new employment. some did, many did. in many cases, they may have found a new job in a profession or occupation that paid less and had less benefits than their prior manufacturing job. you also had cutbacks in the recession at state and local governments, state and local agencies teachers, city and county employees. you had significant cutbacks, so there is a large casualty of americans out there with skills opportunity. one thing the unemployment rate also measures, because you only look at people who are looking for a job, it also measures the

people who want to work. the people who have put in an application for work. and i would submit for people looking at this issue that putting more people to work and helping people find employment and focusing on this as a nation benefits everyone. we've got an economy today is 70% consumer driven. the more people who work, the more people who have earnings and a paycheck. the more people that are going to spend. they're going to spend on the necessities in life, and clothing, shelter. they are going to spend money on the niceties in life. maybe it is travel or certain household goods or going out to a restaurant. we have an interdependent economy and i would submit to you that the key the key, the essential key to future growth of this economy is to reduce this overall unemployment rate and try to create an opportunity for wages to increase so people

have more disposable income. our report court -- our report points to important challenges. what i want to do important for the listeners is also say it is very important to understand that the discussion about the american economy and the urban communities, we've got to understand in the context of 2015. and post-recession america. in the lessons of the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, help us. this is a very different landscape we are facing in 2015. there we faced even 20 years ago. host: tracy is in leesburg, virginia, democrat. caller: good morning. thank you for the topic. i have a comment and a question. i live out in loudoun county the wealthiest county in the country. i have two african-american boys. both graduated and went on to college and have -- are back in the area. quick scenario on how the

difference is. my sons were on their way to the gas station come along story short, they got pulled over by the police and they were released because the police thought they had drugs in the car. not even one month later i find is in the car with three other -- i'm side, one son was in the car with three other white boys that were in the car. they got pulled over and nothing happened. i think that the problem that i am seen between my sons and some of their friends that they have out here is there is a perception that when you see minorities in the car today they are either up to no good unemployed, not doing well. i think there is always a quick reaction not just from law enforcement but from other people to trust that they are a good candidate unemployed, -- they are employed and not doing harm. i think that is the biggest challenge african-american men have a good it is unfortunate because in both scenarios --

both scenarios with both sets of friends i think it was unnecessary, but they seem to have gotten a pass when they were with their white friends versus by themselves. host: all right, tracy. we will leave it there. marc morial. guest: she puts finger on a problem that we all see and our young people face all the time. that is whether there is this -- there is this sort of subconscious bias built in perception. it leads to differential treatment and i think she put her finger on it that her sons were treated differently depending on whose company they were with. for her to say this and share this, what i would say to people -- and this is so important when people think about the police, many people in america have no contact with the police at all. some people have contact with the police that is positive, some negative.

i think it is important for people to understand and talk to their friends to better understand how they are differentials in treating people. walter scott was a 50-year-old man. walter scott is not the young teenager, not even a young man. he is a middle aged man at the age of 50. yet, he was chased down and shot in the back as though somehow he was posing a threat. i think this is indicative to with the caller is talking about. host: donnie, elberton, georgia. you are on with marc morial of the national urban league. caller: good morning. good morning, mr. marc morial. i am a 40-year-old black man and i have to daughters, 117 years old and 111 years old. i always stress to my kids --

one 17 years old and one 11 years old. i always stress to my kids about doing well in school and when i was a kid, i used to love to read books. i was told i might black friends and other friends that i was acting white. we need to get away from that and stop teaching our black kids they are acting white somehow if they want to get their education and read books, if they want to use correct grammar. we need to stop that and get away from that because it caused me some problems going up because i wanted to be accepted by my friends and it caused me some issues and i backed away from my studies and as a result, i suffered in the long run for that. can you please comment on that sir? thank you. guest: i honestly hear that from time to time, but i candidly do not think it is widespread. i think that most parents, most communities stress with their young people, reinforce with their young people the importance of education.

the importance of reading, the importance of learning. you hear it in the pulpits churches houses of worship, in people's kitchens all the time. there is always a pressure that young people have, particularly teenagers and adolescents, to be hip and cool. i response should be we can never fail to reinforce with our children and those of us that proper -- have an opportunity to talk to parents, the importance of positive reinforcements on academic achievement and not be distracted by other conversations that are going to be out there. young people have pressure always, whether it is pressure that comes from years -- from peers to cut class or pressure from peers to use illegal

narcotic substances, or treasure from peers to engage in inappropriate -- or pressure from pers to engage in inappropriate behavior. we need to focus on being a balance in our messages, emphasis, and we have an opportunity to talk to young people. for someone who has your values about the importance of education is to carry that message to high schools, colleges to talk to young people and reinforce this. we have got to all take responsibility to do it to support what is best in the community in every way, shape or form that we can. host: the state of black america report put out by the national urban league includes a section on education. it is available at stateofamerica -- estate of -- stateofblackamerica.org, in

case you are interested in meeting the point -- reading the report for yourself. guest: overall, graduation rates are up. high school blackout rates are down somewhat in the nation, so that is good news. however, the gaps are still wide in our country. the graduation rates are not where they ought to be. they are certainly not where they ought to be for black young people. they are not where they are for latino young people, and they are not where they are for white young people. we have got to understand that this problem is rod, widespread and that we have got to create as much emphasis as we can as a national cause to educate and provide supports needed for our children to succeed because this 21st century economy is looking for more skills. it is looking for better skills.

it needs and it has an appetite for people that have not only high school, but post secondary education. we have got to emphasize -- i grew up in southern louisiana. it was not uncommon for people to be able to get a good paying job working in the oil industry on a rig that provided for their families and maybe they went to 8, 9, or 10th grade. those type of opportunities even those jobs today, require mathematical and some scientific aptitude. even yesterday's jobs yesterday's jobs require a different level of skill for children to be able to succeed and young people to be able to succeed, so that is why this conversation have to be in a 2015 reality. host: tillman tweets into you what is the bigger problem in inner cities?

is it gang violence or road cops? guest: violence, violence, violence is a problem. the challenge with gain the violence or rogue cops is that with rogue cops it is a violent taking underplays under the cloak and color of law. when people are sworn to protect and serve and they heard the community and there is no accountability is what spurs the reaction we see. i abort all violence. i don't care where it comes from, who it is. out on. we have got to confront that challenge across the board. gain the violence in many communities is absolutely a problem, but when we talk about police violence, whether it is

ferguson, new york, the reaction was not just about the incident. the reaction was the failure of the system to hold people accountable. when the system has an opportunity to bring cases against tank violence, the ability to get convictions is strong and good. and police violence cases, there are too many instances where no charges are brought. instances where charges are not brought, there is not even any disciplinary action against the police officers. it is the accountability system that i think raises a lot of concerns. violence should be aboard, it should be condemned. we should work to eliminated. no matter who it is perpetrated by. nazo, long beach, please, go ahead. caller: good morning, mr. marc

morial. leisure to speak with you. i want to touch race and chime in. you had a guy who called in from rhode island, the retired on the broker. i wish you would have given him additional time to elaborate and expand on his comments as i think he was spot on. skill set is necessary for work and labor efforts regardless of what goes on in washington, d.c. to piggyback on that, where does the urban league, the ncaa -- and a place to be an what is the problem with moving forward legislation? -- legislation that prohibits racial profiling? legislation that tracks national databases or police that tracks complaints and things of that

nature? on that particular issue. as far as economics -- again the guy from rhode island was spot on and it starts with skill set development which begins in the public schools which are gosh piss-poor. we have had an african-american in office to terms and the guy never mentions african-american community. his efforts and resources have been put behind furthering the lgbt community and illegal alien population here. until we as a community can become more sophisticated with the people that we elect and go for and not just look at the skin color -- host: i think we got the point we will leave it there. guest: let me take the last

thing first. give president obama credit for the my brothers keeper initiative because of the portable health care act. our data shows this and i should of tension did at the top. there has been a narrowing of help disparities -- of health disparities in america but large numbers of african americans can have insurance for the first time and while it is not the headline, it is a fact. i think thirdly, this justice department under eric holder who i think is a fine public official and has been, if you will, one of the best attorney generals we have had when it comes to enforcing civil rights laws, whether it is voting rights laws by bringing cases in cases like texas, whether it is in the police and -- in a policeman conduct arena.

while the media and the headlines may not get him this credit, i certainly think that that is the case. now, do i want -- but i like to see this president his last 18 months, focused more on these pressing problems of lack underemployment -- of black underemployment and unemployment? absolutely, yes. the president has proposed legislation as far back as three years ago called the affordable care act. it was meant in the same ration -- the same fashion that many important pieces of legislation have that with a block in the house and a filibuster in the senate. where these important pieces of legislation can't even get a hearing or get voted on. it was as though they were never introduced because they are not been heard because of the political climate in washington which is divided and congress

has to share a great deal of responsibility for their failure to act and respond. the important element about anti-racial profiling legislation and other types of legislation. right now, there is new legislation introduced or about to be introduced that would reform the grand jury process. there have been proposals to create a national anti-racial profiling law. these proposals never see the light of day in the congress. you can't even get a hearing scheduled and you can't get the congress to act on these things. there is one thing to propose and another thing for congress to focus on disposing of these important pieces of legislation. we do need a national

anti-racial profiling law. we do need, i think, a new law. the 21st century law that gives the justice department opportunity to step in and prosecute police officers when in fact local officials do not when there has been inappropriate or excessive use of force that rises to a constitutional level. we do need these sorts of things and i think you are going to hear many of us talking about these types of proposals and talking about this type of legislation. we are about to move into a cycle where there is a presidential campaign and for all candidates of all parties and dispositions, we are going to ask them where they stand on issues of justice and civil rights enforcement. where they stand on issues of urban economic policy and on lifting those votes that are stuck at the bottom. where they stand on ensuring that there will be continued focus on academic achievement

gap. opportunity now that we will have a cycle of discussions about the future of the country in the context of a presidential campaign means that everyone out there listening, we need to raise these issues. we need to ask all candidates all the way across the border -- all away across the board, where do you stand, what are your ideas, what is your proposal what are you going to do? and i think you will hear many of our focus is -- many of our process focusing -- many of our voices focusing on that as we move forward. host: next call is robert in florida, democrats line. caller: i really appreciate your viewers on this terrible issue which is thrusting law enforcement in our country. getting back to that horrific and disturbing incident in south carolina.

currently, i understand that when a law enforcement official kohl's out his gun and uses it, he comes into an immediate review process. he is put on administrative leave. here is a possible suggestion and i think your experience as a mayor might be pertinent here. why not put every single time an officer takes out his gun whether he shoots it or not, why not review that situation? why not at least put it on some kind of administrative review? just a possible suggestion. comments, please. guest: so, very importantly there are, and you will see this mainly with big city departments . many big city departments have an automatic review process whenever an officer discharges his or her gun. in a number of departments that

involves an immediate transfer for temporary period of time to administrative duty or administrative responsibility. i think what we are talking about, and this is the essence of the issue, whether we need to have broad, national standards. the department in north charleston is a significant urban community. i think it is nearly 100,000 people or thereabouts or slightly less. ferguson, of course, 21,000 people. smaller communities and smaller departments don't have the kind of rigorous policies that many of the large and some of that are large city departments run. your point is very well taken, but the importance is whether we need to have a uniform stand -- one of the things the national urban league has urged is that we move in the direction to require every police department

there are about 18,000 local law enforcement units in the country, to have a national accreditation. there is an accrediting body, private non-profit body, and only about 1000 and 18,000 local law was meant units in the country have that accreditation. it holds everyone to standards. everyone understands standards when it comes to food, when it comes to medicine, when it comes to appliances. there are standards that these products and goods have to adhere to. i believe the same thing is in order today for policing. that there ought to be a set of standards that every department certainly hasn't to meet. they have to meet in order to be eligible for federal funds. but i also think they have to meet to be consistent with the expectations that citizens have. at the police department and law

enforcement office is going to be focused on protecting and serving and never going to be an agency or body that citizens in the community, law-abiding citizens fear or get nervous about because of concerns that they are not going to treat people fairly not two people politely, and they will carry out violence on people based on race, income, or neighborhood they live in. we need to advance and in the urban league at our website, we have advanced 10 ideas, 10 reform ideas, the national accreditation is one of them. we think that that would respond to what the caller's suggestion is which is to have a standard on use of force applied across the board. host: few minutes left with marc morial. bill is in stone mountain, georgia. caller: i have a question.

i would like to know specifically since your guest is the president of the urban league, specifically and this -- and being specific. what is the urban league doing for the urban parts of our community? i live in a suburb of atlanta. pick up a paper, watch the news and it is just unbelievable. the violence that is going on complements of our young blacks. if you can be specific to what you are doing with these things? guest: thank you for your question. let me just paint a picture of the urban league. the urban league operates a network of 95 affiliates across the nation. we are not in every county, we are not in every city, but we are in 95 cities across the

nation. through that network we provide a lot of direct services. one of the most important direct services we provide is job training, job placement and leadership development programs. here is what i think it's important, so in last year of 2014, we provided job placement services to about 10,000 americans. currently, we have a very successful program called the urban youth empowerment program. that program provides, if you will, career counseling, job training generally currency diploma, education for approximately 4000 clients across the nation. here's the rub. we are doing excellent work, but the challenges that the scale of one to we do is not large enough

to meet the needs of many of these communities. we are private non-profit organization funded by a combination of government, the private sector, committed individuals who support our work. our work is not carried out with volunteers, it is carried out with professionals professional educators, professional counselors, professional social workers across the nation. what i would say is that if you look at the performance, for example, if you come to an urban league urban youth empowerment program, and you have an experience with the criminal justice system, your propensity of being a recidivist or repeat offender declines dramatically. we have excellent numbers and very good performance on that. the number of people we reach is not significant enough and i say all the time to anyone who will listen, members of congress, business leaders, foundation leaders, that there are many

important worthwhile efforts out there. when you do this kind of work like the urban youth empowerment work and job training and job placement, you will not read about this kind of positive work on the front pages of the newspaper on the 5:00 6:00, 11:00 news in many communities. this does not generate news attention. i recognize that the many people listening may be hearing about this maybe for the first time. at our website nationala urbanleague.org, you can get a snapshot in the picture of the work we are doing. that is helping people to change lives. much more needs to be done. it is too easy in many states for people to get guns. we have lacks gun laws. in many states we need many more efforts to help young people -- guide young people into the

right directions. what this report says and what my experiences of the urban league movement say is that if we want to confront this problem, we need to do more. is it? about the community's responsibility is it about individual responsibility? is it about family responsibility? i say it is all of the above. it is not one versus the other. it is all of the above. that is what the urban league stands for. all of the above and doing everything we can to help young people accomplish and achieve to become citizens and taxpayers of tomorrow. host: time for one last call. tony in fort lauderdale, republican. we have one minute left. caller: i will be quick. mr. marc morial i am an immigrant to this country and i've been here going on 40 years. i have always heard races defend their racism by pointing to one

bad action by some minority or this black guy robbed this person or whatever. what i see the so-called black leaders do is they take any police interaction be a justified or a heinous murder like happened last week in south carolina, and they lump them all together and use them as fundraisers raised to generate this content and it does not help black people. one more question, what do you make per year helping us as black people? thank you. guest: let me say this. i don't know of anyone that quote, uses human tragedy to raise money. respectfully, sir, i think it is a bit of a cheap shot for someone to suggest that or say that. the work that we do, all of us do, and we focus on economic empowerment and we speak out on justice issues and i have colleague organizations that very much do the same. we work hard, we are passionate

about it, and i am a trained professional. i have an undergraduate degree from the university of pennsylvania, a law degree from georgetown, i have served as a legislator, mayor, and i do this work because i am passionate about it. many of my colleagues around the country do this work because they are passionate about it. many of them could be doing other things, practicing law working in investment ranking running their own businesses this is an important challenge we have in this nation. we thank those that support this work. no one is "using anything" to raise money. we have to speak in many instances to the tragedies that occur in america. i will give you an example, and this is my last point. in one of our cities, our affiliate just honored the police chief and honored that city's police department for the very important work they had

done to make things better and to reform the relationship between the police and the community. so while the headlines may capture the tragedies, the headlines don't capture the whole picture. for everyone who was listening to date or watching today, we have got to remember that. just because it is on the news doesn't mean it tells of the whole story about what is occurring at the community level. while many police departments have challenges in america there are many out there who i feel are doing good work and doing the right thing. it is the bad apples get the ink. host: here is what the national urban league's 2015 state of black america report looks like. save our cities, education, jobs, and justice. state of black america [captioning performed by the

national captioning institute, >> in about 40 minutes, a discussion on tax reform hosted by the cato institute. they will be looking at the week ahead in the house, calling for a number of bills dealing with taxes including higher iris oversight, repealing the estate tax. we will have that discussion for you live on c-span. in the meantime, from this morning's "washington journal" a look ahead to the 2016 presidential candidates. "washington journal" continues. host: whit ayres is the author of "2016 and beyond: how republicans can elect a president in the new america." mr. whit ayres, in the chapter called "the challenge," you write that uncomfortable reality is that the republican party has a worn-out business model for 21st century residential electorate.

but once sold so effectively is no longer persuasive. guest: peter, the country is changing so rapidly demographically that many people don't appreciate just how fundamental the changes are. we have an electorate that every election since 1996, whites have declined by 2% to percent, or four percentage points. to appoint or in the 2012 election, whites were down to 72% of the electorate. if the same trend continues, it will be down to 69% of the electorate in 2000. what difference does that make. it makes a huge difference. it makes a difference in the fundamental outcomes of the election. rather than just change at the margin. if we have the same demographics in 2008 or 2012 that we had with ronald reagan was elected john mccain would have won the presidential election in a lake

and mitt romney would have won the presidential election in 2012. these are very fundamental changes in any party that hopes to compete at the presidential level in the 21st century and they need to adapt to them. host: one of those demographic issues is the latino vote. george w. bush, 40%, 44% of the latino vote. romney, 27%. how does a republican party increased that 27%? guest: by reaching out very aggressively to the hispanic community. by advertising on hispanic media, radio, and tv. and by having a tone of inclusiveness that makes all americans, and especially latino americans, believe that we want them as part of the center right coalition. it is entirely possible for republican candidates to do very well among latino voters. martinez, marco rubio in florida

won majorities of hispanic voters in those states. george w. bush, as you mentioned, 144% in 2004 in his reelection campaign. a number of texas republicans have done very well in latino communities in texas going back to john towers, senator john tower's the way up to senator john cornyn and governor added. it is entirely possible to get substantial hispanic votes for republican candidates but we got to try. host: some of our viewers may disagree with that you write the vast majority of americans including an overwhelming majority of republicans supports allowing undocumented immigrants to gain legal residency status if they serve in the military or graduate from college or paid a fine, have a job and learn english. guest: they may not like supporting that, but most americans recognize that we are not going to deport 11 million

people. and most americans realize that we have a fundamentally broken immigration system that is not serving the needs of our economy, not serving the needs of latinos, not serving the league -- the needs of the country. and so if you look at reality and say, what do we do about it? the vast majority of americans support tough and their standards for remaining in the country that includes things like fines, pain back taxes having a job, learning english. it is the conditions that are critical peter, for getting to that conclusion. almost no one is for blanket amnesty were you just say nevermind, i don't mind if you broke our laws, we will just forget about it. almost nobody is for that, but most americans to support tough and fair paths to some sort of legal status. host: 202 is the area code if you would like to talk about the republicans and election 2016.

with republican consultant whit ayres, (202)-784-8001 in the republican party. (202)-784-8000 four democrats and (202)-748-8002 for all others. one of the other issues if you take on is the issue of gay marriage. our republican supportive of gay marriage? guest: they don't have to be supportive of gay marriage, but they have to be at least open to gay and lesbian voters and gay and lesbian relationships. on no issue in american life, peter, since i have measuring a look opinion have opinions changed as rapidly as they have on gay and lesbian relationships. we now have a majority of the country that believes gay and lesbian relationships are morally acceptable. when george bush was inaugurated, which was not that long ago, and substantial majority believed that gay and lesbian relationships work

morally and acceptable. that isn't -- that is a fundamental change in this country and occurring at lightning speed. particularly with young people. republicans need certainly do not need to be seen as anti-gay cousin they will never connect with young people. 60% of republican voters under age 30 support gay marriage. it is hard to believe, but there is a huge generational difference on these issues and young people are very much in a very different place than their elders are. host: whit ayres, at the end of each chapter you have used and don'ts sections, do's and don'ts sections. when it comes to gay marriage, what should republicans not do in your view and what should they do in your view? guest: republicans can't be seen as condemning and as judgmental.

republicans need to have a tone of inclusiveness welcoming all people who share our values and our principles into the center-right coalition. republican candidates do not have to be for gay marriage, but i do think having each of the states follow their own values -- i.d. systems makes a lot of sense. there is a genius in our federal system because we had such a dramatically different areas in places like nasa to mississippi washington state -- in places like massachusetts, mississippi, washington state. our local governments control that and it makes a lot of sense to me. host: if someone were running against your candidate and heard you saying all this, they could conceivably run against the pro-gay marriage, pro--immigration america, and how would you defend against that? guest: they don't have to be pro-gay marriage but they need to be -- but they do not need to

be condemning of relationships. they have to paint a vivid and compelling vision for greater economic opportunity for all americans. not just not right -- not just white americans, old, young black, men, women. they need to paint a compelling vision of a stronger american home and a stronger america abroad. that is what will gather people of all comments behind the republican coalition. ronald reagan truly believed that the republican principles of individual liberty, strong families, limited government, free enterprise, and a strong america abroad will know no think boundaries. but we need is a candidate that can articulate those principles in a way that appeals to people who have not yet taken a series of at the republican party. we need a candidate -- the transformational candidate who

can redefine the republican party for the new america that is consistent with republican principles. host: when it comes to national security, to the republicans -- to the different candidates running for president have a different message? guest: well, they will be all over the map based upon what we have seen. some of the potential candidates and announce candidates. what is clearly the case in the republican party anyway, is that happy muscular foreign policy where america does not lead from behind is the dominant thinking within the center-right coalition. problems don't go away just because we ignore them. we've gotten fitted examples with that with the rise of isis and the increase of national security during the 2014 election. most people on the center-right coalition are going to be looking for a candidate that once a muscular foreign policy

and an america that leads from the front and not behind. host: why do, in both parties why do they tend to start over on the edges -- more on the edges of the political spectrum and then work their way into the middle for the general election? guest: the structure of primaries and particularly caucuses tend to drop activist. the people who are a little farther from the center in so far as the activity in the primaries and caucuses go. as you move toward the larger states and especially as you move toward the general election it is a lot of the people who are closer to the center that will hold the balance of power. it is because of the structure of the way we have established the primaries and caucuses that you have some of the more liberal people in the democratic party and some of the more conservative people in the

republican party that tend to dominate those elections. host: is it fair that i was get all the attention they get? guest: i think it is fine for smaller states, peter, to get some attention of the start. what it does is allow candidates who are not particularly well known or not particularly wealthy to get a fair hearing and to sit in people's living rooms and get to know people. i have been to the iowa caucuses, the new hampshire primaries, and it truly is -- it is a neighborhood eating. it is gathering one dozen of your neighbors who -- to hear the president could be the leader of the free world. there is a certain attractiveness about that to me where you don't have to have the kind of money it would take to advertise in california to run for president. host: whit ayres, how did you get into this business? guest: i love politics. my 11th grade teacher mr.

angstrom got me in love with government and i have had that love ever since. got a bunch of degrees of political science, taught political science at the university of south carolina and then went into politics with governor terrell campbell who was governor of south carolina and asked me to join his administration. something i have loved and what polling does is allow me to marry my love of political science with my love of practical politics. host: what is your role in marco rubio's 2016? guest: to be the poster for the campaign if he announces. we will see. he will tell us what he will do on monday. host: whether or not he announces if you run for president, c-span will be live from miami on monday. guest: that is a good choice peter. host: dd fredericks tweets and isn't there a difference in latino voting patterns? you sound as if they are monolithic. guest: not at all.

latino voting patterns are not one of the -- are not monolithic. puerto ricans have a very different perspective on immigration from those who came from mexico. cubans have a very different perspective on it. so it is not at all monolithic but we do have to appreciate the fact that mitt romney want a substantial majority -- won a substantial majority of mindset of white voters, 59%. the larger boat than even ronald reagan got. the reason he is not president is because barack obama won an overwhelming majority of nonwhite voters. 93% of african-americans, 71% of latinos, 73% of asians. that is a problem that the republican nominee needs to address. host: 2016 -- "2016 and beyond the scope is the name of the book. -- 70% 22% support republicans

white evangelicals, white southerners, white men college or less, white in general and the silent generation. 69 to 86 generation, all support the republican side. on the democrat side, blacks, 80%. asians, 65 to 23. religiously unaffiliated, 61, 25. postgraduate women, jewish hispanic, and millennial generation are some of the groups that support democrats more than republicans. let's take some calls, mr. whit ayres. john is in virginia on the democrat line. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i want to respect the guest and what he says. i can tell you this. if he runs as a republican on the pop up, he will lose the

election immediately. republicans are out of ideas by now. they only have 47%. all they are looking for is another 3% said they can win the election. but having said this, when i look at the spanish senators, marco rubio or ted cruz, they are not bringing any spanish. they are attacking their own people. you elect someone who will bring you something. you don't havehost: are you hispanic? caller: i am and often -- i am african-american. i am independent. host: howard ted cruz and marco rubio insulting spanish people? caller: they always put down the poor people. i may misuse the language that i should not, but i think when you

are latino, let's say immigration. ted cruz and rubio vote against immigration. if i am a hispanic voter, i will not vote someone who is supporting my family or doing something different than what i need -- host: let's hear from whit ayres. guest: john and i may agree more than he thinks. a good republican does not put anybody down. a good republican paints a vivid and compelling picture of greater economic opportunity for all americans. that is one of the things we need to address and that 2016 campaign. we have an economy that is still not robust. it has not come back fully from the deep recession. a good republican candidate will have a message for all americans. all americans of all races

creeds, nationalities, on how we can get this economy going create greater economic opportunity. host: in your book 2016 and beyond the first up is recognizing the need for change. acknowledge that the republican message that worked so well in presidential election in the second half of the 20 century will not work and this century. that is the critical first step. recognizing a problem is often emotionally and psychologically challenging. -- guest: there are so many changes going on. it is discomforting. let's acknowledge that. it does not look like the america you or i grew up in. that does not mean that republican consoles and philosophy cannot sell equally well in the new america.

we have to have a candidate that realizes we need to take that message into nonwhite communities to younger people. people we have not traditionally taken that message to in some elections. it will work. i'm convinced it will work with the right transformational candidate. host: james and collins mississippi, independent line. caller: good morning. i wanted to make a statement. c-span has been a pioneer of getting both parties together. i would hope that c-span, what he brings each candidate on, the date that c-span will make them stay to the point of what they are going to do and stop talking about what the other party is doing wrong. when you get people running for president of the usa, we do not want to hear you talk about what the other candidate with the

republicans are democrats are doing wrong. we want to hear what republicans are saying. i am african-american african american in mississippi. i know that. it is time for the media and c-span to hold these candidates accountable for what they are going to do and stop letting them talk about each other. that is the only way you're going to get the country together. when you have one candidate talking about hillary clinton or rubio, you do not get nothing out of that. we need c-span to hold you to what you're going to do the next four years. when the media starts focusing on that, you will find out that all races of people will say it ain't about democrat, republican, independent, it is about what the party will do for us. as long as we have this back and forth about what was did or done, you get no answers. the you please help us and talk.

rand paul, they are criticizing him, the republican party. ron paul is the only one i have seen that -- host: thank you. whit ayres, response for that caller. guest: one of the things i talk about is the book is the critical importance for candidates to be positive and optimistic and forward-looking. paint a compelling vision of the future. people vote for things as well as against things. we need a candidate who can paint that vision that will attract people to the party, not just trash of the other party. host: is important to talk about issues? as james madison -- as james mentioned, the media can get sidetracked on a particular event than issues. host: --guest: issue matters.

vision matters. it is not the only thing that matters. party is a fundamental component. people are also electing a president who they hope has the character and temperament to be a good leader. particular is a president gets reelected. they will face issues you never imagined them being faced with one big -- when they first got elected. classic example is george w. bush racing 9/11. it was all about economy and taxes and the 2000 campaign. you have to have someone with the judgment, temperament, and the ability to work through issues we cannot anticipate in the future and to have confidence that person will handle those issues well. issues are only one piece of the puzzle. guest: -- host: to reset in tennessee.

republican line. caller: i mean no disrespect but you are totally wrong. the republicans want -- won the senate because they ran on a platform fighting president obama's illegal immigration. that is the only reason they want -- won. they want legal immigration not illegal immigration by executive board -- executive order. your opinion on gay marriage, when it was put to the voters and every state gay marriage was voted down by the people. it was a liberal activist supreme court who overturned the people's vote of not wanting gay marriage. you are just wrong. i am sorry. this whole discussion is all about republicans have to do.

everything they are doing wrong. so you have republicans already losing the election. you are biased. thank you. guest: it is sloppy first time someone has flaw i was wrong. you may have misunderstood the hopefulness i have about republicans in 2016. republicans are in about the same place that democrats were in in 1989 after they lost five of the previous six elections in the popular vote. the democrats looked hopeless. we talked about a republican lock on the electoral college in the 1980's. all of a sudden, here comes bill clinton and says i am for ending welfare as we know it. for the death penalty. by the way, we do not talk about fellow americans that way. he redefined the democratic party and set them on a path to

win five of the six elections in the popular vote. the republican party is one candidate and election away from resurrection. i am convinced republicans can win in 2016 with the right candidate and message. host: in your book, this is the e-book copy i am reading from here, when it comes to the issue of gay marriage that she brought up "republicans, 26% say yes it should be recognized as valid . 72% say no it should not. overall, adults in america 53%." as a republican consultants, how do you tell your candidate 53% overall support it. but in the primary, only 26% support it. guest: i am not going to tell what a candidate to think about any article, moral issue. i will find out what they

believe and work to put together a message that is inclusive and does not write a bunch of people off. we can make too much of the gay marriage issue. if you make a list of all the important, critical issues facing the country, gay marriage provides with -- vies with climate change at the bottom of the list. people will pick a president based on his position on the economy, foreign affairs, health care, education. issues that are the top of people's agenda. what it does is -- what gay marriage does is sense -- sets a tone of inclusiveness. whether we will fight for strong families and a strong america. it is as much a symbolic issue as a voting issue. host: what about some fiscal

issues you talk about. a balanced budget amendment. does that work sell? i am sorry to be crass, but it -- is it an effective tool? guest: the vast majority of americans do not like the fact that we are spending money we do not have. they do not like the fact that we are building up a mountain of debt for our children and grandchildren to deal with. that is why most are for a balanced budget and some kind of global constraint. all the incentives in our fiscal life are for keeping our taxes down or spending more money on government benefits. it is no surprise we have yawning deficits. we need global restraint that you guys work it out but do not spend more money than you have so we do not heard in our

children with a mountain of debt. host: do's and don'ts, public and -- public opinion research really indicates that some fiscal messages are more effective than others. make the case that the only way to cure the deficit problem is by growing the private sector economy. we have to get spending under control to get the -- this been a higher priority on beneficiaries than making sure the government is balanced. guest: forming entitlements because you will never get the budget balanced otherwise is not near as persuasive as saying the entitlement programs are in trouble because of the demographic changes. we have a lot more retirees and a lot fewer workers. the way to argue for entitlement

reform is by saying we need to make changes to protect and preserve these programs for future generations. that is a far more effective message been saying we need to reform these entitlement programs just to balance our books. host: james in new jersey democrat. caller: good morning, washington journal, the best show on television. how this man can say the republican party is for the working and middle class is beyond me. if you look at the history of the country starting with the ronald reagan, one of the worst presidents we had for the working class -- history proves it. they believe in fiction. they do not believe in facts. he was a piece time resident that caused the biggest debt in the history of the country. he was the one who started the downfall to hurt the working people of the country.

george bush the father comes in and he continues on brutal economics, the same garbage that got us in trouble. he left the debt to clinton. clinton the democrat thinks that they -- host: all this said, conclude. caller: what was that? host: major conclusion. caller: my conclusion is that the democrat party gets us out of that. the republicans put us in debt -- host: let's get a response. guest: we have had the most breathtakingly high deficits during the obama administration then cap ever had. breathtakingly high. the best thing for working men and women is a vibrant, growing economy. that is what republican candidates are going to be talking about. how we get this economy going not just for a segment of the people but for all the people.

that is the best solution for working men and women. host: this is something you discuss in your book. you talk about the fact that during ronald reagan, deficits went higher. are you handing your opponents' campaign primer with this? guest: my hope is to sketch out how the republican can win using republican principles in the new america. my hope is all republicans -- all candidates on the republican side can run their campaigns in a way that is inclusive and brown -- and sells the ability of republican principles and the type of vision that appeals to a right of center electorate. the majority is still a center-right country. host: check is in ohio. hello. caller: thank you c-span.

this gentleman keeps talking about the republican party can do in the future. once they get an office, will they change and hurt the common people? host: can you give an example of what you mean? caller: like if they want to do away with obama care. well, a lot of people need of obama care because we do not have it. they do not have insurance. they want to cut spending by then they bailed out the banks and stuff. it does not make sense. if these guys want to do something, do something and stick to it. please! host: thank you. guest: it is really in -- important for every political leader to be consistent in

office with what they said your -- they are going to do. that is how they get credibility. the fastest way to destroy credibility is to do something you promised not to do once you get into office. i agree with you. it is important for people to do what they said they are going to do and do their best to live up to the promises made made during a campaign. host: patrick is calling in from michigan on our independent line. patricia, i apologize. caller: that is all right. good morning. we are talking about the candidates. i am not looking at them. i am looking at the american people. they seem to not care about anything that is going on with the country. they are not looking under the mask. as far as the republican party it is no wonder we are tired of the establishment. putting the mccains out there

the romney's. they run the conservatives down like they are animals -- you are never going to be united like that. they are taught to be frightened to death of the conservative. tell me what the conservatives say that is so dangerous to this country. mccains, mcdonald's, -- mcconnell's, these people have to be gone. if the american people have to start caring about the country again. and what is going on with it. another thing, this pope, is going to get the christians to go with the left. his policies are astronomically wrong. when obama asked him to come over to this country, you know it is a bad sign. he will be for obama.

god help this country. thank you. guest: i think it is important that the next republican candidate for president be candidate who can unite the party. that means uniting is this people tea party people, social conservatives, libertarians, internationalists. we need a candidate who will unite the center-right coalition to be competitive in 2016. that includes conservatives like you are talking about. host: whit ayres, you have a chapter on obamacare. obamacare and its legacy. in your view, is it going away? guest: we have a major supreme court case that is coming down the height -- pike that will have a lot to say about that answer. what i do think we will do is have -- should a republican get into office -- an alternative to obamacare that has a much different perspective.

more private sector involvement. fewer mandates from the government. you are mandates on who should i insurance and what kind you should buy. we are not going back to the system we had before. only 18% of americans want the one we had before. the majority want something different from obamacare. that is the task of what i hope will be the next republican president. host: mike is on our republican line from illinois. caller: if republicans want to be in the white house, they have to go out there with some of their slogans. it is time for them to support the -- be against immigration. i know that --

if the majority of them want to be voted in, they should not listen to their emotions. host: back to immigration, mr. ayres. guest: as i said, the immigration system is broken. seriously broken. most americans recognize that. it is incredibly complex. it involves things like people overstaying their visas. 40% of illegal immigrants came here legally. it involves border control. it involves visas for the highly educated. we are kicking those out because they cannot get a visa. these are people who have created jobs. it does not make sense. most of the time, when you have

a seriously broken system, it is the obligation of our government to do what it can to fix that. that is what the people support. that is what the chapter on immigration demonstrates. that people do support fair, reasonable tough immigration reform. it can be done in a number of ways. the house once a sequential way which is fine, as long as it addresses all parts of the broken system. host: during election season, we often hear from reviewers on "washington journal," be for something not be against something. i will for the on you. what are two things you would advise a client to do, running against hillary clinton? guest: present a vision of the future and what america is going to look like and a more hopeful and optimistic way in the 21st century. hillary clinton sounds sort of

like the past two a great many americans. the most important thing is to create a vision of the future. the second thing is to create a hopeful and optimistic tone that reflects ronald reagan's. a lot of people do not appreciate how inclusive he was. he talked about his shining city on the hill being populated by people of all different kinds working together to create a better america. it helps to go back and look at reagan's farewell address that he gave in 1988. i close my book with that because of that address has the kind of tone that is inclusive once a better world for all americans. that is the kind of tone i think a 2016 republican candidate needs. it is a combination of vision for the future and tone of

inclusiveness that brings more people into the center-right coalition. host: this is available via e-book -- guest:. and paperback host: democrat, michigan. please go ahead with your question or comments. caller: i think a more appropriate title for your book is "believe me, not your lying eyes." i think the republican party has lost all credibility, for me. i cannot vote republican because when i look at you and listen to you, i see misstatements like the one you just made about the obama deficit. you make it seem as though it was created solely by president obama when president obama actually put george w. bush is -- bush's two wars and taxes on

the books. i look at people who voted for george w. bush and dick cheney twice and ruined this country financially, racially, and every other way, around the world. we had hope and change when president obama was elected. for the last six years, the republican party has done everything it can to murder hope and change. you have embraced a policy of keeping america down economically. your governors would not accept stimulus money that was instituted to try and bring back the economy. now you want to say that the economy, the economic recovery, is not robust enough.

your party cap it down and you blamed it on president obama -- host: we got the idea. guest: president obama has been president for the last six years. his party controlled congress for the first part of his first term and did what they wanted. republicans to block much of anything between 2008 and 2010. so i think we just have a very different perspective about the state of the economy and what it is going to take to get it going. i am persuaded that republican principles, limited government, free enterprise, and a strong america will be better for this country than what we have had host: over the last six years. host: -- caller: yes, i do agree with the previous caller in many regards. number one what he said about obam