next, ray smock takes questions. then, british premised mr. david cameron takes questions. -- british prime minister ♪ this week on q and a our guests are historians don ritchie and ray smock. they talk about the history of the house and senate, focusing on leaders, characters legislation, and scandals. brian: don ritchie, you spent 40 years as historian in the united states senate. what was the toughest part of the job? donald: finding out what had just happened so that we could answer the question. reporters would catch us out of breath and want an answer about

something historical. it clearly had something to do with something that had just happened in the senate. we had no idea what that was. we had to tell them to calm down, tell us what happened, and try to provide historical context. brian: really i think you spent about 12 years in the house. what about your answer to that question? -- ray, i think you spent about 12 years in the house. raymond: i had to create the office. luckily, i had the senate historical office for a couple years. don ritchie and take bigger -- dick baker were greatly models and give me a lot of help. brian: i have a lot of video clips from different events in history. i get to throw anyone up i want and look to you to be experts on

this. let's start with everett dirksen who was a senator from illinois until 1969. here he is talking about the differences between republicans and democrats. >> could you tell me, what is the difference between a republican and a democrat? >> i am afraid we would have to devote the whole evening to it. i could highlight one or two things. one, of course, is the insistence on the part of republicans that we balance out our fiscal affairs and make sure that we are going to have a solid country. i think, generally speaking, our friends on the other side of the aisle are prone to spend money and go in for new activities when it is rather doubtful whether or not it is good for the country and for the interest

of the people. because, you pileup up your national debt, interest staggering deficits that we have at the present time. that spins itself, in terms of higher interest rates, higher prices in the stores where people shop, so the evil effects always fall upon the people back home. brian: i know you to our not partisan and that was in 1967. put that in perspective. raymond: as a minority leader, he was very skillful in using his senators when they were needed. the democratic majority was split between its conservative and liberal wings. on a number of occasions, they needed his vote. he was a master bargainer.

he had that wonderful voice. he won a grammy for doing a record called "gallant men," in which he basically read patriotic texts with music in the background. it sold very well in the 1960's. he was talking at a time when the society had created a bunch of new programs like medicare. at the same time, the war in vietnam was going on. deficits were rising. dirksen makes this argument which sounds very contemporary. you could make the same argument today. brian: what would a democrat say about his answer? donald: you have to think about what it was in the 1940's. you have the conservative wing of the liberal party and the same thing on the democratic

side. in order to get anything done, they had to work out a compromise. the issues of how much you spend is always the central issue in politics. that is what congress does. one party is always going to accuse the other of spending too much money or spending it on the wrong things. brian: here is another historical figure, he we long -- hughie long, talking about the same thing. >> he had two bottles of medicine and he played his banjo. one of those bottles of medicine was called [indiscernible]

both medicines are good. what is there -- they are different. one is made from the bark of the tree that we pick from the top down. the other is made from the bark that we take from the root up. the only difference i have found between the democratic leadership and the republican leadership was that one of them with skinning from the ankle up and the other from the ear down. raymond: he was one of the great populists. he was appealing to the masses with a good yarn.

he wanted to do the new deal one step better. he wanted well for everybody. -- wealth for everybody. that was his platform. he got pretty far with it, at least in louisiana. he was a very popular character for a while. ultimately, i think, like a lot of characters, he became consumed by his own power. brian: how many populists you think there were in history? donald: there was a populist party. they were influential in the 1880's and 1890's. there have been far more members

who are republicans or democrats who were populists in the sense that they appeal to the people and were antiestablishment. hughie long was a maverick. he gave just as much grief to his own parties -- party's leadership as the opposition. he would walk behind joe robinson on the floor and mimic his stride. he resigned from all of his committees because he said he didn't want to be beholden to someone like robinson. the senate has always needed some mavericks to keep the institution bubbling. if they were all mavericks nothing would get done. brian: he was senator from 1932 to 1935 and governor after that.

we have a comedian who talks about the congress. he can be rather strong with his language. his name is lewis black. let's watch his definition between the difference of republicans and democrats. >> we have a two-party system. the democratic party, which is the party of no ideas, and the republican party, which is the party of bad ideas. the way it works is the republican stands up in congress and goes "i have a really bad idea!" and the democrat says "and i can make it shittier!" brian: comedy and the congress. donald: there was a speaker of the house who said it was a god-given right by every

american to look down on their members of congress and make fun of them. this is nothing new. mark twain said the same thing back in the 19th century. he said suppose you're an idiot and suppose you are a member of congress, but i repeat myself. members of congress are the people we elect. people really like their own representatives, but they know they are really working tough for them and representing their interests. it's everybody else's representatives they don't like. it is a reflection of our nation and our divisions. it is a subject of a lot of ridicule. brian: all the times you are around congress or even since you left in 1995, who is the funniest member of congress? raymond: oh gosh.

brian: who used humor more than anyone you can remember? raymond: some of them were quite funny on the floor. i'm trying to think of the name of the one who was particularly funny when i first got there. mo udahl had an iconic dry wit. he would sneak up on you with a little story and then completely flip it around. some of them are kind of blue so i can't repeat the ones i remember. brian: do you have one from the senate? raymond: i suppose i would put bob dole at the top of my list. we would call on him from time to time to draft remarks for leaders when there were historical events.

you could put a joke into dull's speech -- dole's speech and then he would ad lib. a few more. i remember when they were dedicating the bust of agnew. he was the absence vice president in the collection. senator dole was getting ready to run for president and trying to figure out how to say something that would appeal to vice president agnew but wouldn't look too foolish in the media. we came up with a speech where he talked about the bust being there to honor the institution of the vice presidency, not necessarily the individuals who served. in the middle of his speech, he said "the first bust was

installed in 1890. strom thurmond tells me it was a beautiful ceremony." the whole place directed. -- erupted raymond: thomas brackett reed the speaker of the house, was probably one of the smartest men to ever hold the post. this was in the 1890's. he was a republican speaker. he once said of his democratic colleagues, they never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum total of knowledge. he lost the nomination to william mckinley. he said you could do worse and you probably will. brian: both of you have phd's from maryland. why did you get into history in the first place?

raymond: i thought i would be a great scientist and i cap flunking -- kept flunking college algebra. i love to read from an early age. i had some great history teachers. they were great mentors. once i got involved with them, i saw history of my profession. brian: what is it about it? some people don't give a hoot about it. what drew you intuit? -- into it? raymond: i was curious. i realized that nothing in the textbooks or press that i was reading told me anything about

the african-american experience, other than maybe a little bit about slavery, a little bit about the civil war. i was curious to know something. i delved into that subject out of curiosity. donald: both ray and i were students in the 1960's. we met in 1967 in graduate school. it was such a tumultuous decade. i turned to history in part because it helped make sense of what was going on. it helped place the current day events into some sort of context. i looked into sociology and other things. i found history was the most satisfying in terms of making sense out of the present as well as the past. i also had some very good professors. i a professor named fred israel who had a methods seminar that taught me how to archive research and use microfilm and do oral history interviews.

i came to the university of maryland and had a professor who taught me how to write and communicate. he used to say that no matter how brilliant your ideas are, if you can't communicate them, they are somewhat worthless. all of those factors came together. history was just the most satisfying field of all the ones i explored. brian: this man was senator from connecticut in 1952 to 1963. this is from the early days of black and white television. see if you recognize him. >> senator bush, the other night, a republican colleague of yours, sitting in the same seat you are occupying now, had some rather rough things to say about what he called "the extreme white -- the extreme right wing

of the republican party." he said this wing was shackling the eisenhower administration's program and regime and it should stop. what is your comment on that? >> i noticed that mr. scott made remarks to that effect. my feeling was that they were a little severe and not entirely justified. i think that so often votes down there take place on an area basis than a party basis. sometimes it gives the impression that there are dissidents who are making things difficult with the party. i don't want to deny the fact there have been republicans in both houses who have been a little bit reluctant to go along with some of the administration's plans and congress' ideas. republicans will pretty much stand together on the important

issues. brian: talking about a number of familiar names it including edward p morgan who asked that question. he was sitting next to winston burdett. he is asking senator bush. what is your reaction? raymond: -- donald: prescott bush is being questioned about the division and his party which was very strongly divided between the eisenhower wing and attacked wing. -- the taft wing. bush is somewhat straddling in this case, although he is defending the president. he is looking forward to having members of both parties support the president. eisenhower was the most avid

golfer among all of our presidents. bush was the president of the pga. brian: george herbert walker bush was in the senate for two terms. how often in history does this kind of thing happen where you have a dynasty? raymond: there are quite a few dynasties. some of the great names in early american history seem to pop up throughout history. lindy boggs was a claiborne going all the way back to the founding era. there are a number of members. distinguished early families

continue to send members to the house and senate for generations. brian: the longest-serving member of congress, 59 years or more, john bingle. -- dingle. he was preceded by a dingle and succeeded by a dingle. how do they say they're all that time? raymond: they liked them. donald: it's a brand name two. -- too. hughie long's wife and son both served as well. they have a certain shelf life. there is a certain period where the next generation doesn't

quite make it. franklin roosevelt had sons who all went into politics and none of whom really rose to the rubble that -- rose to the level that people expected. joseph p kennedy was very frustrated in politics, and yet his children went on to be very successful. the different generations experience politics in different ways. brian: that clip was from 1963. this next one is from 1964. this person has made an impact better known as margaret chase smith. >> will you be able to debate in new hampshire? >> now we have to start all over again on the debate. yes, i shall be very happy to go

into a debate with the other candidates. it should be carried out as it was in may in 1948, when all four candidates entered the debate. i shall be happy to enter the agreement as long as all would be candidates go on the platform. brian: she replaced her husband in the house and then went over to the senate. a couple things come to mind. the debate part of this, back in 1948 -- raymond: who gets on the platform and how was it arranged? we are going through that in 2016 all over again. it's all about how parties keep control of the candidates. during the primary season, the parties are the ones who are in control of the machinery.

it's much more conducive to party control that it is when you're getting into the general election. it's a matter of party control more than anything. brian: what kind of a force was she in the senate. -- senate? donald: she was running against a popular governor. she was the woman so she was the odd person out. she needed to be included as well as other candidates which was what she was arguing for. she was the first serious woman candidate for presidential nomination. in the senate, she was the ranking republican on the armed services committee, from 1948 to 1972, a very respected senator. she was often the only woman and often secluded.

when prescott bush was head of the pga and became a senator, he planned to dinner at burning tree golf course. all of the senators and president eisenhower in 1953. after he got it all planned he realized burning tree doesn't let women into their clubhouse. he went to margaret chase smith and asked if she would mind not attending. she said, of course i would mind. prescott bush had to go back to burning tree and ask to allow one woman in for one dinner if she promises to leave as soon as the desert is over. -- dessetrt that's exactly what they did. donald: they don't allow women to play, only in the gift shop.

raymond: even in the clip we just saw, margaret was wearing a rose. that was her brand. she always wrote -- she always wore a french rose. she introduced a bill at one point to make the rose and national flower. it became quite a show. dirksen was from illinois and he wanted the marigold to be the national flower. he would get up in his eloquent manner and say all the beauty of the marigold far outweighs that of a mere rose. they would play that game for the longest time. they were good friends. that was a nice bit of humanity on the floor of the senate. brian: how many women are there today? donald: there are 20.

brian: what is your sense of women who are now members? donald: there has been a big change. most of the clerks in the senate are women. at least half of the reporters in the press gallery are women. it used to be all men and women were excluded. women have brought different interests into the senate. there are different issues they are promoting. they have also brought more bipartisanship. republicans and democrats get together more often socially as women. i think that has been an important addition or it brian: when did it start to change in the house? raymond: not until the 1970's and 1980's. it has been a steady increase since then. brian: why did it change? raymond: i think more women are

running for office. i think the electorate is changing. there is still a long way to go in both the house and the senate. brian: do you know how many are in the senate -- how many are in the house? brian: i think there are a hundred and four in both but i'm not sure. donald: in the late 1970's, they interviewed a cross-section of people in the interviewed a lot of the pioneer women of the house. all would be put on the same committee. dump them over there to keep them away from more important committees. one of the women said that she was on a committee whose german was so old that he couldn't stand up -- chairman was so old

that he couldn't stand up or sit down. she understood what was going on. when they built the rayburn building they built it only for men to use the gymnasium. there were no lockers for women. on the day it opened, an invitation was sent to all members of the house and women showed up in gym close to use the gym. they had to make a provision to open it up. it took even longer to open the gymnasium in the senate to women. the institution has been very slow to accept that kind of change. brian: we have a chart to put on the screen. i want you to comment on this. this shows -- the senate is the top and the houses the bottom. the main thing is, you can see that over the years, the

republicans are red and the democrats are blue. what would you say that represents and the change over the years and the change in the parties? raymond: that charge shows a great dominance in the 19th century by the republican party and a swing to the democratic party in the 20th century. a mixed bag more recently. one of the problems is, when we think of the parties, the parties in the 1860's and 1870's, the republicans of that area are nowhere near the same party as the party in the 1940's, 1980's, or in 2016. those charts are kind of misleading.

they are useful barometers to see which party was in power. they don't tell you the issues both parties have changed. it used to be solid democratic south. and now that is the solid republican south for the most part. it has been a quite flip from the passage of the civil rights act. the parties and and flow and i chart shows that kind of a flow. the issues change and the party label does not always vote of the same. brian: the senate is on the top. when was the greatest disparity between the senate and house? raymond: in terms of numbers? brian: when would you not want to be the president when you were in the other party? raymond: the republican had more

and that is the great dividing line. in the 1890's, there was a terrible depression when the democratic party was in office grover cleveland. the republicans came in strong as the party of prosperity. they dominated politics and then until they were out of office. herbert hoover was in and is controlled both parties. franklin roosevelt came in with a democratic congress. for a very long time, i was all a bloom. democrats are the majority. -- it was all blue. and now we have parties it does switch back and forth. in some respects, the hardest time for a president is when one party controls one house of congress and the other party controls the other half. because there are almost no way

they can get together on any particular issue. in some cases, it is a little easier for the president is both houses of our controlled by the opposition. it forces the opposition party to take a stand and the president to veto legislation. and can also negotiate. bill clinton and his presidency was able to do better when he was negotiating with republican dominated house senate. and so there are some odd situations. our system of government is complicated. the authors of the cousin tuition -- a because the touche and did not want sudden changes switches back and forth. that constitution did not want sudden changes, switches back and forth. you have to get the president to sign on a board and in the supreme court to uphold it. it is so located it is amazing

anything passed into law. it is more located if one has one house. brian: the longest-serving speaker, sam rayburn, a building named after him. here is a video from his library down in texas. put sam rayburn in perspective. [video clip] >> for nearly 50 years, sarah rayburn represented the fourth the district in texas. for 17 years, he was the speaker, longer than anyone else. his fingerprints are on some of the most important legislation of the 20th century. legislation that brought economic equality. rayburn never forgot his roots as a cotton farmer in texas. rayburn clinched the record of the longest-serving speaker in history.

in 1951, president truman presented his friend a gavel to commemorate. although the relation of was successful, conservatives in congress and the korean war [indiscernible] in 1952, the country elected world war ii hero general dwight d. eisenhower is president. the republicans won congress and rayburn was relegated to minority leader. two years later, the democrats regained control and rayburn returned to speaker's chair. brian: 1913 to 1961, he was in the house. is that possible? donald: he was not bigger the whole time. his speakership was 17 years was broken into several periods. he was not always speaker. he kept coming back and getting elected when the housing democrats had the majority.

he was one of the speakers, it's really sad to the tone. the ultimate institution man. what i got there in the 1980's, there were a lot of people who remembered working with rayburn. and his mark on the institution was still very strong 20 years after he left. just in terms of his style of running to the house. his favorite saying to new members was "to get along, grow along." follow your leaders. that do not always work. that was his advice to young the members. he was a great proponent of the new deal. and followed that with a harry truman's fair deal, the square deal. we had three deals.

and it was a great leader in the house for harry truman. brian: he was diametrically opposed to young people having televisions in the house of representatives. he what not allow cameras in the hearings. why did the senate allow cameras? raymond: in the 1940's, they both initially allowed cameras. senators became famous, it is propelled forward because of the crime investigation, joe mccarthy book comes a huge figure. the senators like the television time. multi-presidential ambitions. in the house of representatives rayburn was always shocked by that committee that it should be abolished. she could never work it out. he was afraid if he gave a television time, they would become a circus. he crated the rayburn will which was no television in the

hearings. watergate, for the first time, the house allowed atv and the house judiciary committee was filmed in the impeachment proceedings against president nixon. that was part of the legacy of sam rayburn. this was before c-span. when tv covering hearing, they do not cover gavel-to-gavel. that a couple of cameras. if somebody important came in, the lights came on. senator kennedy, ted kennedy came in and the lights came on. he spoke. as soon as he got up to leave, the lights went out. they were only going to show a two-minute clip of the most on the evening news. today, we are able to watch the entire hearing. brian: a clip from 1974, you

will recognize this person and a milestone. her name is jordan. [video clip] >> earlier today, we heard the beginning of the preamble of the constitution of the united states. we, the people, a very eloquent beginning. when that document was completed on the 17th of september, i was not included in that we the people. for many years, george washington and alexander hamilton left me out by mistake. through the process of amendment , interpretation, and court decisions, i have finally been included in "we, the people." today, i'm and inquisitorial and i will leave would not be fictional -- i am an inquisitor

and i believe would not be fictional. my face and a custom to should and completed. i am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the devolution subversion, destruction of the constitution. ride barbara jordan from houston -- brian: barbara jordan from houston. donald: i just love that woman. such a marvelous member of the judiciary committee. and her eloquence was so important at that time because she just told him to like it was about the importance of the constitution and what president nixon was doing was violating the constitution. and no one said it better in no one said a clearer or with more force than she did.

that is where the magical moments and congressional history. brian: another factor is the impeachment, how often has that happened? raymond: very few. against president's andrew johnson, richard nixon, and bill clinton. nixon is the one who if he had not resigned would've been impeached and removed from office. the television was so important during that period because first you had the sam rayburn committee, the watergate committee. bringing witnesses forward and coming up with evidence and revealing what was going on and a huge fight if the nixon tapes would be made available as there was the evidence was coming after you with the house moving for impeachment, the public watched this and it really riveted the nation. i think it changed public

opinion. it also changed public opinion about congress. congress has the highest approval ratings and the 1970's when it was going on. people got to see their members at work and they were serious. brian you mentioned earlier about vice president agnew who had to resign as vice president. how often in history has that happened? raymond: two vice presidents. calhoun, and political reason. we had vice presidents under a cloud. both of u.s. grant in the scandal that diminish their public standing. colfax was one and wilson. and so there have been others but agnew certainly was one of

the most dramatic falls from grace. brian: here is -- the question i want to ask before we get to the clip. the last eagle, the trust act -- i am -- the point of this is how often do names like this survive? bills that have been passed? can you think of others? i was sitting clip in the minute. >> it not right now. [laughter] brian: i will give you time. let's watch this. one half of it. [video clip] >> it was written for one purpose, to restore justice and equality in management relations. a revision of the existing laws of the wagner act which were so

one-sided on leaders power over all of the largest employers. and even more important over their own members. these laws are written on sound principles. power formally exercised by employers. they were so broadly construed they gave no one, public or worker any remedy against the act of you -- union labor leaders no matter how unjust of those acts might be. brian: -- donald: mr. republican was his neck -- raymond: mr. republican was his name. he tried to balance someone alleges nation during the new deal because the wagner act the allow unions to organize. it put a crimp into labor organizing.

and it makes have to very important in some parts of the national. he had presidential ambitions, his father howard taft was president. he tried. you can tell from the clip, use kind of stiff and not the warmest personality. he was eventually overshadowed by the dwight eisenhower who had a much more outgoing personality and a great military leader during the second world war. during his period when it was a leader in the senate, the republican had a slogan which was "let bob do it." anytime they had a problem, they will say let bob do it. is it would require working all night, let bob do it. bob quast took on a lock -- taft took on a lot of the project brian: that was 1947.

he was the senator majority leader -- i gave you time. can you think of others? how about humphrey? were you around her humphrey hawkins? donald: i don't remember. that is -- the act that is huge in terms of -- naming bills for people that is usually because that person is chairman of the committee. quite often the real authors are lower-level members. the chairman is going to manage the bill gets credit and they have often said in congress you can really accomplish a lot if you're willing to let somebody else that the credit. brian: what the book would you recommend to somebody to read about congress other than don

ritchie's we talked about? donald: did baker -- dick baker's new book which is winning a prize as we speak. certainly one of the finest pieces of work of the senate. there's not been as much done generally on the house. and i still like the old mcneil's "democracy" even though it was written in the 1960's. it captured a flavor. it is an anecdotal book. it is not really weighty. it -- the house has biographies of individual members or certain legislation and so there is no big censuses of the house done

in recent times. brian: a man from the house, no longer alive he was in the house from 1953 to 1995. one of the many texans who had power. let's listen to jack talk about lobbying. [video clip] >> i have been in this town it now for 37 years. i've met representatives, public affairs specialist, vice president of congressional affairs, consultants government relation executives, but never lobbyist. because in this town according to contemporary literature, a lobbyist almost always, a special interest representative. brian: did you know jack brooks? donald: i did know jack brooks.

when he was chairman of the judiciary committee and a short annotated version of the constitution -- brian: is there anybody like him around today? donald: he was a really colorful character. he played his texas roots to the hilt. he could be funny. he was usually more often sarcastic and rough but he played his role as mr. chairman to the hilt and was amazing character. she was also a workhorse. he was a real producer. -- he was also a workhorse. raymond: my favorite story was when he was negotiating with ted kennedy over immigration. kennedy brought with him a box

of very fine cigars and put them in the middle of the table. very fine. every time brooks would concede a point, kennedy would a push to the box and little closer to him. every time brooks stood stern or objected kennedy would pull the box back across the table. it broke with attention and was one of those great moments where people can work together to try to figure out what kind of common ground we have. he was very well respected what a tough guy. you do not want across town. brian: another moment in history i would like you to explain in the house of representatives from 1998. this former congressman bob livingston on the floor of the house. [video clip] >> and i can only challenging you in such fashion that i am willing to heed my own words to

stop to my colleagues, my friends, and my wife and family, i have hurt you all deeply and i beg your forgiveness. i was prepared to lead our narrow majority of speaker and i believe i had it in me to do a fine job. but i cannot do that job or be the kind of leader i would like to be under current circumstances. so i must set the example that i hope president clinton will follow, i will not stand for speaker of the house on january 6. brian: there was a lot dropped jaws. donald: that -- the context of that was of course of clinton impeachment is going on. newt gingrich has just stepped down. and of course, rose in part on

attacking the house of representatives for his many scandals and co-authored one book called "the house of ill repute." instead of the lady of liberty on top there was a red light. and so the party was in shambles through a large extent. the impeachment was going on. president clinton's sexual peccadilloes were all in the newspaper. and as newt exited, bob livingston looks like a good prospect. and he was. he was one of the finest members i ever knew. but he also had an affair in his background he was confessing up to. and so he resigned the speakership and resigned from the house as a matter of

principle and hoping his ethical standards would spill over onto president clinton and to others. it did not quite work out that way. that was a stunning moment on the floor of the houseful's top brian: -- on the house floor. brian think there could be a book on affairs and this town. why this happens? raymond: in the 19th century and well into the 20th century newspaper reporters knew alot about the private lives but never reported it. the rule of the was unless the private witnesses spilled over to impact their public arrears it was no wonder business. that uses say every reporter in town was a graveyard the secrets of stories he was not going to file. since of the 1970's, people's

private lives and public my -- allies have conversed together. anything is fair game and newspapers. gary hart was one of them. they're turning point when he tells reports to follow him and they do. it is not that they are more today than they were back then. people just do not report them. brian: time for one more clip. this is the man from senator from 1981 until 1989 and still alive and 77. a new yorker. his name is alphonse. she does his own little thing on the floor. [video clip] >> how long do you think it would take a senator to read this? >> do not drop it. >> a lot of printing.

you would think we would be out by sunset? >> i think we will be out for observance tonight. president clinton had a bill e-ei-e-i-o and in that bill was a lot of pok. it caused a way to much and must be chopped. chop that pork everywhere. mr. president. i thank you and yielded the floor. brian: could you do that on the house floor, could a member of congress sing? donald: i think they could sing, it might be out of order but a lot of things like they go on.

i cannot believe that was on the senate floor. it was like it was somewhere else. that was unusual. the fact they were standing at the podium talking to each other and not addressing the chair was a violation of parliamentary procedure. those two guys were quite a contrast. one of the greatest intellectuals ever to serve in the senate and alfonse d'amato who was floor boy, colorful, in your face, populist guy. brian: won a democrat and one republican. both were republicans. raymond: alfonse d'amato was concerned with local issues. the other was into the great international issues of the day. they were in interesting couple in the senate that way. they played up against each

other as you can see in that clip. one thing senate did was bring posters. -- c-span did was bring posters. they are followed by somebody carrying an easel and posters because they want to illustrate their speech. usually, it is a graph or a chart or something conventional. in senate alfonse d'amato's case, it was a large pink pig. he used to keep the senate in session late at night. sometimes all around the clock particularly that year he was run for reelection. often on issues that had to do with constituents in new york and that helped them win his reelection. brian: on your retired from the government. what are you doing in retirement? donald: i am not retired. i run the robert c. byrd center. where senator byrd's papers.

his the longest-serving senator in the united states history. and held more leadership positions than any other member of the united states senate. we study congress and the constitution. we are delving into his collections and other collections we have. brian: what are you doing? raymond: i have not retired from the history profession. i am a historian and i'm doing research. i want to write more books. brian: we thank you you for being here. odds and ends, videos from the archives. don ritchie historian emeritus from the united states entity. and the same for ray smock former historian in the house. thank you for joining us. announcer: for free transcripts, or to give us your comments

about this program, visit us at q&a.org. "q&a" programs are also available as c-span podcasts. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> if you enjoyed this week's q& a interview, here are some other programs you might like. richard baker talks about his book "the american senate: an insider's history" and fred kaplan talks about his book. and former senate curator talking about the art of the u.s. capitol building focusing on the senate collection. you can watch it is or search our entire video library at c-span.org.

>> on the next "washington journal," "washington post" reporter discusses in-depth story on how the clintons and built their initiative. and what reporter talks about his report on drug shortages and the u.s. and what this means for patient health. and the transportation administrator talk about the funding and training and technology used by screeners at the tsa. we take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal boko -- washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. >> monday night on "the communicators" v-- we met up with an author and why he feels the internet is not the answer. >> of the internet is not the answer at the moment, not the answer that it is not working currently.

it is lending itself to undermining jobs. if compounding -- it is compounding the inequality of our economic lives. creating massive monopolies that were unimaginable in the 19th or 20th century. and as data economy where are we are all internet users have been turned into products. you and i have been package. when we use google or facebook. we become the product. >> monday night on the communicators on c-span 2. >> of british prime minister david cameron takes questions from members of the house of commons. this he spent interview with former virginia senator and you look at the 2016 general election presidential debates. at 11:00 p.m., another chance to see q