>> is it a death spiral. if you don't make the debate, you or anybody else, you're probably not going to make the next debate or next one after that? senator santorum: here's what i found. go back and look at -- look at every election cycle. people go up, people go down. that debate to be a very interesting time. and could prove to be a wonderful opportunity for some and as we saw in the past it could be a disaster for others. it could shoot their campaign right between the eyes. and so you just -- the idea that being in the debate or not there were debates i wasn't in last time. and it had it had absolutely no impact on the campaign. i think something this early on with all the things that are going to happen between now and caucus day i just don't think it's going to be that important. mr. cook: dana milbank from the “post.” >> the trump effect.

you got this widely fragmented field and it appears in order to break out you got to say something outrageous. and you're here very nicely talking about robert putnam which is terrific. but it's not outrageous. do you think you can do basically what you did last time, sort of plodding along?

are the rules going to be fundamentally different this time and it's going to be all about money and all about being provocative to get the media attention? can you be plotting and get to the finish line? senator santorum: i hope so. that's -- we haven't really changed how -- who i am as candidate and what i believe in. and i don't think iowa has changed. i know everybody likes to look at all the things going on in the national media. but in the end, iowa's going to cut this field down dramatically much more than whether you attend the debate or not. if you can go there and connect as we did in the past, and be

successful, we are going to be one of a handful of guys or gals i should say who are going to be the nominee of the republican party. i would say i'm the tortoise and the hare. slow and steady wins the race. we are not going to -- i don't see any real opportunities for us over the next six months to break out. i didn't see it six years ago we were going to break out. what i believe in is that when people get down to the serious business of judging who they want to be their president, not who they are enjoying for the moment, not who gets them excited and gets them to cheer for something that they feel frustrated that no one's speaking for them, but in the end who they want to sit beyond the resolute desk, i think it's a different calculation. we went through 20 debates, 18 debates, you think of a

memorable line that rick santorum said? no. that's not -- i give good solid answers that are knowledgeable that show a clear vision for what i want to accomplish. and what's best for this country. and on a variety of different topics and eventually people came around and said i think that guy can be president. and it coalesced. we had a lot of really wonderful people you may say there are just better fecks out there. they are stronger. that may be the case. but one of the things i learned is you don't know that this far out. what i do know is that we passed that test before and i think we can pass that test again. mr. cook: miles. >> you began this session talking about income inequality and your belief that -- what you read about it being primarily caused by a break down in the family. senator santorum: i said that's what the studies have shown the principal reason. there are others. education, problems with education. mentioned the manufacturing sector of the economy has been dramatically reduced in this country and therefore opportunities for a lot of noncollege educated people to get good-paying jobs and rise has been compromised. there's a lot of factors. that is certainly one of them.

>> is a conservative view of limited government, can government do anything about re-establishing the american family? and income equality? or are those things not the business of the government? senator santorum: i would say the answer is yes and no. when i say yes and no, there are things that the political system and public policy can do to effect the family. on a policy side, i use the example of when i was campaigning in wisconsin four years ago now congressman grossman shared with me a study when he was state senator showed that if you are a single mother with two kids, and you're making $15,000 a year in the state of wisconsin, you are eligible for $38,500 in welfare medicines. if you got married you would lose those benefits. and so what the government had done all with the intent of trying to help people, was create a barrier for marriage

among lower income single moms. 0and that's why you see for the first time in the history of our country a majority of kids will be raised at homes without a father in the home at some point in time. number two, majority of kids born in america out of wedlock are born with fathers living in the home but not married. there are several reasons for that. one the marriage debate i would make the argument has now separated the idea of children for marriage. marriage is no longer about children. i think that's part of it. part of it is because of government programs that particularly for low income individuals. government programs make it economically not viable to get married because you have to be making $50,000 to $60,000 a year which is above median income in america, that person you're going to marry, to net $38,000 in basically tax-free benefits.

the government has done things all with the intent -- i don't describe ill intent. with the intent of trying to help. what they have done is create a barrier to marriage in america among lower income individuals. that's number one. we have to look at public policy changes to stop that disincentive. it's damaging for mothers and children in particular. that's one idea of public policy. shift over to what is another important area which is the power of the government to -- the bully pulpit. using the power of the presidency or the government to convenient -- convene a discussion and movement to try to do something in america about this problem. the president uses his bully pulpit power for many things but no more than climate change. he's constantly out there -- we

passed a bill on climate change. no. but if things happen in this country over the last six years on climate change. yes. why? because the president has been out there talking to the business community and the churches and our schools and all of these institutions out there that have a huge impact on what goes on in america. the president has driven this issue so they have taken up this cause. and implemented and done things to promote this idea. imagine a president who said the most important issue right now is restoring the nuclear family in america. is what can we do in your business to help? i was at a business in tennessee, the reason i mention that is in my book 10 years called "it takes a family" i wrote about chattanooga and a program there called first things first. it's the first time a community at large came together because they had very high rates of divorce, out-of-wedlock birth,

single motherhood, etc., so they decided as a community to do something about it. government didn't pass the law. but the churches and schools and businesses and the civic and community organizations came together in this group called first things first, and implemented a variety of different things to try to get the community to bring families together. i was at a business there a couple months ago and i just said, just curious, because. do you guys do anything for your families? and, i did not even have to explain. everybody we have in our company, we give them a free dave ramsey course so they can -- we give one of our benefits is marriage counseling. so they went through all these things they do to support the nuclear family in chattanooga. why? because they made a conscious effort that the schools now talk about marriage and the importance of marriage and what marriage is and why it's important to be married, to have children. i would suspect most schools in america don't do that, right? they talk about the importance of fathers.

they talk about, in fact condoms but they don't talk about what it's about to be a responsible father and a responsible family. all those things can be done without any government programs because if we identify and, you know, dana's talking about the putnam book. i don't know how many read the putnam book. when you read that book you can't walk away and say, we can continue this in america. you can't. there's no effort on the part of the federal government. nothing by this president. nothing.

he has poverty summit. when you talk about using the power of the presidency to try to change and start a debate in this country of what we can do so the situations that are occurring every single day in america because children are abandoned by a system that is not focused on kids, i think we can make some real changes. >> we've got about 10 minutes left. we'll try to get in three more questions. paul. paul: senator, four years -- senator santorum: what if i filibuster? paul: senator, four years ago your family played a big role in your campaign. you're a dad of seven. how have things changed in four years? is it easier, harder? how do you -- how do you stay dad? senator santorum: it's hard. seven kids, going through those teenage years and everything it's -- there's challenges out there. i'll be honest with you. i feel -- first, the biggest issue, if you recall four years

ago, was our daughter bella and the health problems that she had. i'm just -- we're just real excited she's doing better she has ever done and has been for about three years. after the campaign, we -- you know, we realized we had to look at some things because she was just getting -- there was a pattern of her getting sick, very seriously sick. and she had that pattern but it was getting worse. so anyway, we dug into some things and we actually found a therapy that's in our book. she takes something to boost her immune system and it's just changed her life. she's doing great. and so i -- if she was in the same position as she was four years ago, i wouldn't be sitting here. but she is doing great. and so we feel very, very comfortable on that front. we have six other kids. as i said, they're going through their teenage and college years. i don't need to say any more

than that. but it's a -- last time around, it was a family enterprise. and in spite of the travel and other things, it actually in many respects brought the family even closer together. and everybody is excited about it. you know, our kids are -- it's just fighting them off as to who goes to what trip because everybody wants to go and be out on the trail and do things. it's sort of like the family business in some respects. you want to go to the store and participate, but it's -- so i feel very good. our family is well prepared to do it. not to say we don't have our issues like every other family but if we didn't then you should be worried about it. paul: you would be taking a pay cut if you win, right? senator santorum: yeah. it's pretty good job. >> mr. rappaport from "the new york times. >> talk about taking on the clinton machine. is it more or let formidable candidate than president obama? senator santorum: yeah, we took on a machine in 1994 when i ran against harris and we were you believe against carville and

begala and bill and hillary came to pennsylvania with great frequency to campaign against us. you know, pennsylvania's not the reddest of states. we felt we went up against their best and brightest. health care was the big issue back in 1994. the guy i was running against was the senate sponsor. in fact, you go back and look at your political reason, kids in 1991 really ushered bill clinton into the 1992 campaign because cargo and -- carville made health care the issue of the 1991 special election and went down to little rock, basically took their experiences in pennsylvania in 1991 and applied it to the race in 1992 and the rest is history. they had a lot riding on pennsylvania in 1994. let me assure you, they threw the kitchen sink at us and we were able to survive. i remind people in 2000, we won

by five points in 2000 in the state that bush lost by four. we were the only conservative to win in a state that bush lost. i think we have a good track record of being able to overcome big election odds. i beat two incumbents. i represented a 60% democratic seat and a 70% democratic seat in my first few terms in the congress. i think we have a pretty good track record. when we get to a general election we can be pretty effective. i feel like hillary clinton is in some respects tougher than barack obama.

in some ways. in some ways easier. i think hillary's going to have a harder time galvanizing her base. i think she probably has a little bit more of an opportunity to appeal outside of her base. the president last time obviously lost independents and moderates, and that would have been an opportunity for me, at least i believe, we could have done better there. i think she'll -- she'll have pluses and minuses, but, again we have a track record. not just gone up against the political team but also went up against her in the united states senate on more than one occasion and i think we did pretty well when we did that. so if you're looking at debate performances and how well you can stack up and be effective, i think we have some pretty good evidence that we'll do very well. >> phil, last question. senator santorum: i kept trying to finish up. phil: are we going to see mrs. santorum this time? last time she had a pretty tough go at it.

what is her role in the santorum 2.0 is going to be? senator santorum: the least disruptive model possible. particularly with our daughter who's doing well but she is still 24/7 care. if care is not there, then we got to hire someone to be there. that becomes economically challenging, let's just put it that way. so i'll be honest with you. a big part of it is just family economics for us to have nursing care when karen's not home 24 hours a day gets expensive and it's not covered by insurance or anything like that. so part of it is driven by just

the family realities of having a disabled child that requires 24/7 care and the other reality is we have six other kids. they're going through teenage years and sort of good to have a parent around. that's happening. we had some experiences about that in the last year or so. and so karen and i is a division of labor, if you will. while i think karen does an amazing job on the campaign trail, is a huge asset, the most important asset that we have is our family. and while she maybe a great asset on the campaign, she is the indispensible asset at home and that's the way we'll view all sorts of opportunities on the campaign. >> thanks for doing this. senator santorum: you bet it. >> appreciate it. senator santorum: appreciate it. what painless. somewhat. >> i'm glad. [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]

>> at 8:00 eastern on c-span two, the biggest planetary unveiling. the new horizons spacecraft is doing a flyby of pluto and you will get to see images of that planet. at 10:00 a.m., a hearing on the power of immigrations to influence deportation cases, and the process of giving certain groups of immigrants legal status called administrative legalization. secretary of house judiciary committee testifies. also, on c-span3, the future of

the european union. >> book tv is television for serious readers. join us this saturday for our all day live coverage of the harlem book fair. the nation's flagship literary event, featuring historians and journalists. and code pink founder medea benjamin on in depth. september 5 appear live where the national book festival, celebrating its 15th year. followed by our live in-depth program. that is a few of the upcoming live programs on c-span twos book tv. >> next up former governor martin o'malley running for the democratic national nomination

discussed latino voters. he spoke at a conference in kansas city, missouri. >> i am so privileged to introduce one of our keynote speakers. born and raised in the state of maryland, governor martin o'malley has become one of the states most dedicated and revered public servants. an attorney by profession, governor o'malley began his career in public service at the age of 28. he was first elected to the baltimore city town soul, where he spent eight years and was later elected as mayor of baltimore for two terms. in 2006, he became marylin's 64th governor. a post he held until january of this year. throughout his distinguished

career governor o'malley has focused on improving the lives of his constituents whether it's advocating for better education safer communities, or stronger economic opportunities. nowhere is this more evident than in governor o'malley's work on behalf of the glowing -- growing latino population in maryland. he has worked closely with ncl our affiliates like the gaza for over four years. he has long supported comprehensive immigration reform and supports president obama's immigration relief order. but, it is his record of accomplishment on issues of top priority to latinos that stands out. in 2007, he appointed our good friend and colleague tom harris

as maryland's first latino secretary of label. -- of labor. he established the council for new americans. a pioneering effort on new immigration. he issued an order which expanded access to drivers license for undocumented drivers, which he helped make him then and 2013 when he rightly noticed that the measure protects the safety of all maryland citizens. he shepherded the passage of the maryland dream act. the following year, he helped beat act a challenge to that law when maryland voters over -- overwhelmingly passed a referendum in support. one of his final acts as governor was to increase minimum wage. one of his top priorities on

policy. these join me in giving a warm welcome to governor martin o'malley. [applause] ♪ >> thank you very, very much. i want to say a special thank you to janet for your kind invitation and the ability to be with all of you here today. as many of you know, this is janet's 20th year at the helm of the national council of laurent's of. eight did -- la raza. that means 10 years of exceptional leadership.

a sane and humane vision for immigration that will uplift our entire nation. [applause] janet and her family are doing great things. her grandparents moved to the united states to escape the mexican revolution. neither her mom nor her dad made it past the seventh grade in school. that, they believe in hard work, emily, community, possibility. all of the things that our nation promises. growing up, the kids and janet's family slept dormitory-style in

one big room. but they also shared something else, and that was in unshakable belief in the american dream. janet and her six siblings grew up to pursue college degrees and law degrees. janet went on to work at the white house to service a top administrator at the university of kansas and of course to lead this fine organization. one of janet's others is a federal judge, and one of janet's sisters is a judge. and, that is the first time in our country's history that a brother and sister have served on the federal bench. and that too, is the american dream come to life. [applause] and now, janet helped lead the fight to make that available and true to every hispanic american

family in fact to every american family. of course, janet has big shoes to fill after the 30 magnificent years of her predecessor. he made this organization a national force in pursuit of hispanic opportunity and equality. when he was a child in south texas, his family faced a nightly curfew. in spite of growing up in the face of exclusion his distinguished resume includes decades of leadership of ncl our , ambassador to the dominican republic, and a host of other achievements in service of the cause. along the way, role benefited from one of the most far-cited, transformative investments that our nation has ever made in our people and the growth of our middle class. and that is when bridal went to -- when role went to college -- when raoul went to college on

the g. i. bill. millions of americans have been affected by this. americans had the good sense to invest in him. i know the power of that investment personally. my dad, tom o'malley went to college on the g.i. bill as well. i think it is fair to say he went to college only because of the g.i. bill. history was set in motion when my great grandparents came to this country from ireland. i great grandfather whose name also happen to be martin o'malley, had no money. his first language was not english. but the hopes and these dreams that he had for his children, for his grandchildren, were purely american. he started from zero. just like so many new americans

from all over the world come here and start from zero. the americans that he worked beside worked their lives in the minds of self west arizona -- risked their lives in the mines of southwest arizona. they have the same spirit, the same love of family that builds up our country one person and one family at a time. it is a spirit that has always made us the land of opportunity. for many years, i had very intentionally and repeatedly used in my own public service the term "new americans." the genius of our country is not

so much about where you come from, it is about where you are going and where we are all going to gather. [applause] of course, we know that both the positive and the negative aspects of american history can often repeat themselves. today's american immigrants are not the first to face the ugliness of exclusion, fear, or hate. during my service as mayor-true story-i always kept a sign from the 1890's on my desk. and, it it read "help wanted. no irish need apply. " those signs were once very common throughout america. for me, that sign was a daily reminder that not only were we once strangers in a strange land, but more importantly, we

are all in this together. we must hold together if we are to succeed. [applause] and, i suppose, this truth is why i have always seen in the eyes of my new american neighbors, the eyes of the great grandparents that i never met. you see the cause that we share is the cause of human dignity. the work that we share is the strengthening of our common good as one american people. it is the dream made real by families. the dream made real by my family, your family, every family and america who love their children and love their

country. [applause] it is the living reality of that dream that lift us all. as governor of a american, i fought to make that dream real every day. how did we do this? we did this by including more of our people more fully in the economic and social and political life of our state. you see, in maryland we did not wait for the federal government to act. we pursued our own dream to make sure more had access to affordable higher education. [applause] after i signed the dream act into law, our brothers and

sisters in the republican party decided to petition it to referendum and it was a straight yes or no vote. when we started out, we were losing. in fact we were about 10 points down. but instead of following popular opinion, we forged a new consensus. we became the first state in the union to defend the dream act at the ballot box. [applause] after that conversation that we had around the referendum -- get this -- we actually won with 59% of the vote. we were good, compassionate, generous. this is not simply a victory for the dreamers, though it was, but it was also a victory for marylin's future. for the future we all want for our children. in maryland, the also expanded

access to drivers license because people need to get to work safely and obey the rules of the road [applause] and, at the very start of my administration in 2008, i established the new american commissions. its purpose to highlight and welcomed the schools -- the skills being brought to our state by new americans from all over the world. that was helped by our first labor commissioner, a name that will be familiar to all of you tom perez, who is now the labor secretary for the united states of america. i regret i have but one cabinet to give to my country will stop during my two terms as governor, we actually increased government contracts to latino citizens by

100 14% -- by 114 percent. [applause] we were the first to expand the living wage, we raised the minimum wage to $10 and $.10 per hour. hundreds of thousands of maryland residents have gotten a rage. we froze tuition for years in a row and we did a better job then any other state to help this, of course, helped all of us. but it also particularly help hispanic students win bachelors degrees during my service as governor. we kept maryland's unemployment rate down to one of the lowest

in the nation. what does all of this mean? anyone can talk about it. but we actually do it. [applause] [speaking spanish] [applause] we created a real opportunity in maryland for all of the people. we did it by investing in our people. we did it by including more people more fully in the economic political and other

areas of life. together, through these actions, we made the dream real for more and more families. tomorrow, i will lay out a detailed immigration policy for our nation. and, today, i want to talk to you about what guides my thinking. first, we are and we have always been a nation of immigrants. e pluribus unum. out of many, one strong nation. [applause] second, we are a strong enduring people. the symbol of america is not the armed wire fence, it is the statue of liberty. [applause]

and, number three it is in the best interest of every citizen of the united states for us to reform and immigration system that is callous, unjust, and sells our nation short. [applause] you see our fight for immigration reform is not only about our values as american though it certainly is, but it is also about creating an economy that actually worked for all of us. it is about bringing our neighbors out of the shadow economy and into the light of an open and inclusive economy. it is about one of the most important issues affecting kitchen tables all across the united states of america.

and that is taking better actions to make sure that wages go up again and's debt of down for all americans. -- instead of down for all americans. [applause] and we must begin by providing immediate relief to all of the americans whose hopes of men -- to gannon it by a -- whose hopes have been dashed again and again. many scapegoat and seek every opportunity they can to speak ill of new americans and have fought tooth and nail against immigration reform. i know that all of us here today share my disk gust -- share my disgust with the comments that

donald from recently made. [applause] the real problem, the real problem is not that there republicans have such a hate-spewing character running for president, the problem is that it is so hard to tell him apart from many of the other candidates they have in the air field -- there -- their field. get this. the los angeles times ran a headline. it read, "republican field divided on donald trump's comments about immigrants."

divided? as in, not sure he's wrong? two days ago donald trump attracted a crowd of thousands of people to listen to his hateful speech rant against new american immigrants. what does it say about the direction of today's republican party that donald trump called new americans from mexico rapist 's, drug dealers, and murderers. and the best they can summon up is that they are divided? there is nothing to be divided about here. if donald trump wants to run on a platform of demonizing mexican-americans, then he should go back to the 1840's and run on the nomination of the no-nothing party.

[applause] our children deserve daughter. america deserves better -- our children deserve better. america deserves better. let's talk about children and our own hemisphere, if i may. maybe it is an irish sensitivity, but i have a soft spot for all people who are being treated poorly. i would like to speak with you, therefore, about our fellow americans from puerto rico. brent o'regan's have been our fellow citizens for almost 100 years --

[indiscernible] have been our fellow citizens from us 100 years. they have far on battlefields -- they have blocked on battlefields alongside us -- they puerto ricans have been our fellow citizens from most 100 years. they have fought on battlefields alongside us. i was glad to lead the field of our candidates to call on congress to improve legislation giving puerto rico the same ability to negotiate with their creditors as the united states has under the sec code. i also led our health department the department of health and human services to end the and equitable treatment of peruerto rico under the establishment of the affordable

health care act. we must all demand action, and on the island, where mass deportation of dominicans of haitian descent have already begun, i was the first and only presidential candidate to call on the united states to work with our allies to use the full force of our diplomatic might to stop this atrocious affront to human rights from happening in our own hemisphere. [applause] we would not tolerate the expulsion of citizens without due process based on their skin color or ethnic background. we should not remain silent when such in in just -- is such an injustice is being perpetrated in our own hemisphere. we must demand action.

[applause] the people of this world of ours , this earth we share the people of our own american hemisphere, they care a lot more about what we do they and what we say. and that is why i pledge to you that i will always act according to my principles and guided by our better angels. it is the way i have always led into the way i will continue to serve and lead. we are the greatest and most powerful republic ever brought forward on the face of this planet. we have literally save the world before and we can save our country now. we have come a long way. a long way since the depths of the recession.

but, a great deal of work remains. that work, the ongoing continuing, urgent work of continuing more people more fully in our economy. there are things we need to do. we need to return to ourselves. to practice the commonsense economics of our parents and grandparents. we must always raise the minimum wage, keep it above the poverty rate, and pay overtime wages for overtime work so families can get ahead. [applause] and, we must respect the rights of all workers to organize and collectively bargain for better wages. [applause] and we must send our kids to college without saddling them with a large amount of debt and college loans.

[applause] this is not rocket science. we the only advanced industrialist nation that saddles kids with that kind of debt. that must not be the way it is. they must also create an american jobs agenda to build a new, clean green, renewable energy future for our children and grandchildren. [applause] and, we must rebuild american cities of places of justice and opportunity for all and we must protect the american dream from ever again being wrecked by the elite and powerful and reckless behavior of a select few on wall street. [applause] and, we should stop entering into secret, so-called

free-trade agreement that lower wages for workers, lower standards for workers, and export of american jobs abroad stop [applause] -- and export american jobs abroad. [applause] there are things we must do to find, to craft, to carry through on a new national security directive. but it all depends on making our economy stronger at home. making the dream real again for all families. i would like to leave you with this full final american story. a true story. you will remember last year when refugee children were streaming north from guatemala, hunt, and el salvador.

they were at the hands of murderous drug gangs. when children arrive on our doorstep between starvation and drug gangs, we cannot do americans turn our backs. we cannot turn them away. or worse chained him up behind barbed wire in conditions that see a lot more like you would see at a local humane society. no. we must act like the generous compassionate people that we have always been. when those stories and that suffering was playing out, i stood up and i spoke out. and i said, we should care for these children decently and with care for the dignity of every single child.

[applause] sadly, at the time, and some of you will remember this there were some other governors around the country who spoke with these courageous children as if they were some kind of invading swarm of jackrabbits. one of my advisors warned me at the time, he said, i am not sure of this. i think you are going out on a limb. i was not going out on a limb. i knew i was speaking truthfully to the compassion and generosity in the hearts of the people of my state and the people of my country. and, i was not wrong. our people rallied. we called on faith leaders. and we accommodated, through foster care, more children than any other state in the united

states. [applause] a few months later as my wife katie and i were hosting the holiday open house at the governor's residence there was a long line of people that were coming in to shake hands with her governors and first lady and say hello and merry christmas. and i will never forget, one gentleman came up to me with a young teenager with him, and he said, governor o'malley, i went to introduce you to the manual. he is 13-years-old. he was one of the refugee children who you helped, who just came here from guatemala. and, that little boy, who had braved the desert and deprivation and so many other horrible things to get away from the drug gangs that plagued his

country and threatened his life he did not speak english. but he shook me by the hand and as he took my hand, he immediately released and hugged me around the waist in an embrace that i will never, ever forget. because, history -- his dream is our dream. the dream of everything that has ever been possible here in the united state of america. do you know who believes the most rationally in the truth and the reality of the ongoing truce of the american dream? it is everyone who has ever risk their life to get here. that is who believes in the american dream.

[applause] i believe it, you believe it, now, together, let us fight as one to make it true for every american. may god less you, and may god bless every citizen of the united states of america. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you very, very much. [applause] ♪ >> this weekend, on c-span's road to the white house, to major political events from iowa and we're the only place where you can watch or listen to these he ends in their entirety. we will be live in cedar rapids for the hall of fame dinner that will mark the first time all five democratic candidates share the stage. and saturday, we will be live for the family leadership summit where nine presidential

candidates are scheduled to speak. on c-span, c-span radio, and c-span.org. c-span's road to the white house. 2016. we'd take you there. >> and joining us this morning is to trina vanden hoople. thank you for joining us -- k atrina vanden heuvel. the socialist candidate sets out his vision for america. he or as a look. i'm going to ask you, they right here that in the beginning there were plenty of numbers. now, bigger than expected. that says something about sanders. it also says something about the prospects for progressive

teletext. what does it say? katrina: the so-called democratic wing of the democratic party. someone was going to fill that space in 2016, and bernie sanders is filling it. it might've been elizabeth warren but bernie sanders has staked out his ground. he is someone the nation has been covering, paul, since -- you know he entered the public in 1990 so it strikes me that he is only now getting popular. the crowds are growing. part of it i think, paul, is the mainstream corporate media in this country has for a long time sort of policed the parameters of the possible and it led to a sort of downsize of exclusion.

the view bernie sanders holds about a more fair country and how to get there taps into the belief that this country belongs to the citizens, not the alien heirs. -- not to the billionaires. in the interview we push him on, what does it mean to be a socialist? a social democrat. he would be sort of center left in many countries. he is sort of a new dealer. i think bernie sanders and his issues are very much in sync. according to many gallup polls the mainstream -- the mainstream media has said -- i submit one example. bernie sanders was a guest on "meet the press," on sunday, the first time in 20 years.

whereas, john mccain is a frequent guest. somewhere in there, there should be more full coverage of views in this nation. we are saying that we want, in this campaign, as in any campaign, is a robust debate. in airing of new ideas. -- and airing of new ideas. in 2016, a lot more people will be paying attention then they were a few months ago. host: sanders senate colleagues are absolutely stunned by his assent. katrina: very good question. i don't think all of his colleagues. you have a cohort in the senate. elizabeth warren, tammy baldwin from was cosan, these are people

who share bernie sanders us views. it is a horse race to the detriment of the issues. bernie sanders is running a serious campaign with serious ideas and solutions to problems he sees in this country. a crisis moment for our democracy and economy. i think he is caught the way. -- the waiver. -- the wave. he himself has been a very sharp critic of a media which is not permitted the full range of views. either way, he goes on and talks to reporters and gives views and many times at the end of the views, people say what do you think of hillary clinton. instead of pushing them on his views. he is not it best to criticize hillary clinton. he wants to have a serious debate. is our country ready for such a

campaign? i think we are seeing elements of such readiness, but we haven't seen it. the day after he announced, he raised $1.5 million. do i like to measure my ability of campaigns and candidates by their fundraising crowds? no. that he raised 1.5 million and 24 hours. the median donation was about $43. he raised more than rand paul and ted cruz. the small donor insurgent, with real ideas campaign. the people may be ready for it. host: phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. call for katrina. editor and publisher of "the nation." what does it mean to be 150, and

what is new? katrina: i find it astonishing to survive. think of the longevity. we have just launched an extraordinary new site, thenation.com. we are here largely because though we cover politics and believe in movements that make fundamental change, we are here because we believe in the power of telling truth to people challenging the conventional wisdom, pushing the consensus raising issues that might seem heretical but our common sense. we were at the forefront of opposition to the iraq war in 2003. we were accused of being anti-american, which is what

happens when you oppose government in wartime. 10 years later, the opposition to the iraq war, that it was catastrophic, became common sense. we have had extraordinary writers. our special issue of the nation martin luther king jr. was our civil rights correspondent. james baldwin wrote a report from occupied territory. he wrote it in 1966 about policing abuses. toni morrison has an extraordinary essay on the role of writers in times of fear. we launched chris hayes, who i hired at age 28. he has his own show on msnbc. naomi klein was at the vatican speaking about the pope's encyclical.

we have tried to do investigative reporting. we believe in journalism that rights wrongs. the nation is 150 years old. do not think many other places, tpm, will make it that long. host: there is the cover. we will talk about hillary clinton. let's get some calls. carol in florida. thank you for waiting. caller: good morning, katrina. lovely speaking to you. i understand bernie sanders senator sanders, was promising $50 million for jobs. i would like to know who will pay for the jobs. how he will pay the deficit down. the government does not create jobs. what jobs is he talking about exactly? guest: i have not seen the exact

framing. i have seen that he has called for major infrastructure investment, which hillary clinton, i believe today in her address on the economy will second. i believe bernie sanders -- he has put forward budgets over the last years that i would argue are the most common sense budgets floating around the country. they call for paying down the debt and making investments in the country's future. there is a lot of money in terms of tax breaks for oil and gas companies, military companies pharmaceuticals. the tax breaks are not doing much except enriching companies that are already rich. you can find ways to create a budget -- it is not just a

parcel of numbers, it is a moral statement -- you can find a way to do a budget that is responsible and beginning to pay down a deficit while making investments if you reallocate money. there is an interesting idea that bernie sanders is one of the opponents, a robin hood tax. tax wall street to invest in main street. you can really take on companies that have reaped huge riches without stopping them and bringing money back into the country. what is the ultimate security? a healthy, literate, secure country with a rising middle class. bernie sanders talks a lot about the disappearing middle class. that is what budgets should be focused on.

rebuilding the middle class security at home. host: to the hillary clinton speech, we will have it live at 10:00 at c-span. the wall street journal says clinton will tilt left in the economic plan, focusing on her differences with republican rivals, accusing them of seeking growth without regard to whether the middle class thrives. the speech will draw implicit contrasts with bernie sanders of vermont, a strong challenge from the left folkies -- focusing heavily on the economy. anymore on this pending battle? guest: i hate to do this. i do not think bernie sanders'

candidacy should be viewed as a foil to hillary clinton. too often, the coverage is, what does this mean for hillary clinton? his campaign should stand on their own terms. they will play a role of moving hillary clinton to speak more urgently and more fundamentally to the defining issue of our time, which is rebuilding the middle class. what she is talking about, first of all, is it left-wing to argue that people who work 40 hours a week should not live in poverty? that, to me, is humane. that is politics the pope could support. the pope is talking about unfettered capitalism and making bernie sanders look like a centrist. hillary clinton will talk about the bottom-up wage stagnation. what can be done to rebuild the

middle class. she will talk about empowering workers. she is not going to focus, as so many democrats have on the role of technology in globalization. she will make the point, the fact we have this inequality. it is not immaculate conception. it is the role of politics and policy to rebuild the economy. bernie sanders however, gets to the nub of the problem. supposition position that the majority of americans -- increasing taxes on the very rich. i do not think you can address the defining crisis of our time without taking that up. i know it is heretical, but the nation covered this years ago. president dwight eisenhower had a 90% margin tax rate on the wealthy. no one is calling for that now because we have moved into an era where we are trying to

recalibrate after the you roshan -- erosion of the safety net after years of largely republican assault. i think hillary clinton's address has interesting ideas but i do not think she will talk as firmly as bernie sanders about the importance of taking on banks to big to fail, making sure they are responsible to the real economy, that they are not defrauding, criminalizing the economy in which they have been blessed to work. host: michelle in wisconsin democrat. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i was calling because i do like bernie sanders. he is upfront. he wants to take on wall street and the big banks that tend to put failure in the economy.

i believe that, for our economy to get a boost and go in the right direction, we need to tax the wealthiest people. they seem to get around the tax breaks and everything. yet, the republicans will say, that is just a tax break. the poor and middle class are getting handouts. if the big corporations that are million profits and billion-dollar profits should be able to pay taxes on those things. you know, i am faithful that bernie sanders will be straight and take on wall street because a lot of our failures in our economy is because of them controlling so much stuff that the poor and middle class do not have a chance anymore. i do not understand it. host: thanks for calling, michelle. guest: you are seeing in this

moment -- i talked about ascendancy of the populist wing. i mean that in the best sense. there is a right-wing populism that roams the land. but there is far more attention being paid now to the middle class, low income workers, low income people. we forget -- our contributing editor, gore vidal, one of his favorite expressions was the united states of amnesia. history is roaring back. we forget that wall street is not as dominant. the hyper financial is asian -- financialization, the weapons of mass destruction that the economy -- lou up the economy.

i think we need to rain that in so there is more connection between the real economy and the wall street economy. there are simple things that are matters of fairness. warren buffett says he pays fewer taxes than his secretary. there are so many tax breaks because the very rich have income defense industry. they have the best lawyers,, investment advisors. there is no reason that private equity firms should have a secured interest tax break where they pay far lower taxes on investments. capital gains tax. well should be taxed -- wealth should be taxed equally if not at a higher rate than work. it is unfair that wealth is

taxed at lower rates than work. people get shafted. in that shafting, people like bernie sanders find an anger and a passion among million who want to find a different path forward. it is not revenge or vengeance. it is simply saying, there is a fairness, a fair deal that we should try to get back. host: let's go to illinois. john. you are on with the editor and publisher of" the nation." caller: good morning, sir. host: what would you like to say ? caller: more people should read the federalist papers written in 1787 about energy in politics and what is happening today is

in the books, detailed. article number nine is about what happened recently with the flag issue. article 11 is about commerce and the navy. number 64 is about treaties. everything that is happening today is in the book. business should be taxed as commerce. the business should be taxed but not the wealthy person. it is kind of like an income tax. guest: good caller. what is going on with some of the taxing of corporations is massive tax evasion. listen, i am not antibusiness. i think there is a role for business. honest, strong business, which

helps create jobs, which participates in the country's life and community. but too often, corporations are unpatriotic. they shut down factories in communities. they take their money out of the country so they do not get taxed, contribute to the revenue base of the country. in that lack of patriotism, we need to say, let's strike a new deal. i'm not using that lightly. we need a new deal, a new social contract. that is very pro-democracy and coming back to the federalist papers at the heart of the best role in this country. a social contract that honors the rights of workers contributions of workers communities, and gives business the right to do well. the maximization of short-term

profit is a failure to invest long-term in communities. just a ripping off of profits in order to benefit a few shareholders or take money and reinvest it in profits. all of this is not part of what founding fathers thought about when they talk about the role of commerce in this country. host: what do you make of this so-called trust gap concerning hillary clinton? is it real in your view? what is causing it in your view? what can be done about it? guest: on some level, i try to avoid the personality coverage of campaigns. i want to see where she moves on the issues. i do think that she -- it is an extraordinary situation. i never accepted that the

clintons are a dynasty. the bushes are a dynasty. the clintons are a political marriage. hillary clinton, what everyone thinks of her, has had a extraordinary career. her handling of the e-mails, it is not at all clear that laws were violating. but there was a little trimming here and there. the danger, in her first interview last week, she seemed at times to be reading lawyer's notes. it confirms the narrative that has floated around the clintons for a while. they play by their own rules. it compounds that narrative. it is a problem. but i think she has a campaign. it is hard to believe we are only a few months in. there has not been a first debate. i think the debates on the

democratic side should be moved up. i think she has the ability to address that. i think the policy, how people will lead a country, the staggering difference between the republicans and democrats on economic issues -- republicans will tear apart the safety net. they will roll back health care. cut social security. cut metal care -- medical care. rollback minimal wall street reforms. i think those are the fundamental issues. hillary clinton has a chance to speak to trust issues honestly. we hope to get an interview with hillary clinton, not just bernie sanders. we are reaching out to martin o'malley, former governor of maryland. we would like to interview all the candidates. host: moving on to derek in minnesota, independent color. -- caller. caller: katrina you talk about

the corporations in a democratic system. they are not. they are owned by shareholders. you called it unpatriotic for companies to do what they do. they are in capitalism. that is the dividing line. what is the progressive nature of the country rewrite now -- right now? where does it end, and where does any sort of trust happen for the average citizen when it comes to we cannot protect our border, which means, like donald trump says we do not have a country if we cannot defend the border. what are we supposed to say to our kids? we will end up 20 choice dollars in debt. the biggest security risk is national debt. guest: i disagree. one understands there is a

fetish about the debt. we have the ability to live within our means, be responsible , pay down the debt in the way that is in sync with the values of our country. but the fetish with the debt, we have the ability to control our own currency, to revisit policies and regulations -- by the way, corporations even martin freeman did not see the short-term maximization of profit as part of the corporate charter. corporations have to operate in a national environment. but they want to be free of all regulations and politics. that would lead to anarchy, in my view. it would be a brutish world if corporations ran roughshod over

the rights of sovereignty. they operate by their own rules and laws because they have the money to lubricate the system buy their representatives to have seven lobbyists for each representatives. you cannot say that corporations are unto themselves. they have to abide by certain rules and regulations. in terms of the border, i do not think the discussion is totally off base. the wrong questions are being asked. why are people coming here? we need to address the root causes in countries from which immigrants are coming. they contribute to the country in so many ways. they have contributed in ways that donald trump averts his eyes from. i think he is a bully, a big it and is jumpstarting a conversation which the republican party tries to avert

its eyes from. but he has threaded through what the republican party has become since it's southern strategy. some of the racist funders and polity -- policies in that party. they have a lot of soul-searching to do. it is suicidal politics for the republican party. more than that, it is a really ugly odious, politics. talking about right-wing populists, you hear donald trump in europe. he is similar to the neofascists running around france or eastern european countries. i think it is a dangerous sign. i am torn between the media giving him more attention. so much involved with ratings. sunshine is often a disinfectant. one hopes he will fall. if you want to talk debt, donald

trump has built his empire on a ponzi scheme. nbc gave him a show and he became a kind of folk hero. we see it in our history. the good news is, folk heroes go down. host: david in florida. you are on the air. caller: good morning, katrina. guest: good morning. caller: young lady, i really respect your clarity in how you speak. i think america is quite intrigued in how you deal with things. i would like to ask you a question. i would like you to give me an answer, whether i am right or wrong on this level. the last segment was on lgbt community and what the supreme court did. as far as i am concerned, under the constitution of the united states of america, and i want

your opinion, under life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have a government charged with not only taking caught -- care of the majority, but taking care of the minority rights. when i look at what the supreme court did ok, with a 5-4 decision, i do not see it in a religious right. i see it as the supreme court holding up the rights of the minority, which you are charged to do in the united states of america. do you agree with that? guest: i agree. i agree. i do not see religious liberties being infringed. i see an expansion of freedom. if i may just add to what you said, so often, court decisions,

after a long period of social movement. the court decision, in a sense ratifies what has already been going on in states and communities in various movements. free association of people talking about the constitution and our rights and liberties. at best, court decisions do protect the rights of minorities, do expand freedom. and in that, i agree with you. host: what do you make of the debate over the confederate flag? guest: i think it has been healthy for this country. i come back to the united states of amnesia. eyes have been averted from our history. the nation was founded by abolitionists committed to ending slavery in the immediate aftermath of the civil war. history has been frought.

abraham lincoln -- eric folger has an essay in this special issue on securing the rights we are given. in the confederate flag, i see racism and oppression. it is remarkable to see what happened in south carolina. a terrible tragedy. but the flat coming down. now, we need to look hard at structural racism in this country. reverend william barber of north carolina, and extraordinary figure, if your readers -- viewers have not read about him. he is head of the naacp. he leads something called moral mondays. in north carolina, they are launching a lawsuit to challenge restrictions and the voting rights act.

the are living at a time when the confederate flag and its racist symbolism coming down but are still weighted with a racism embedded in the restriction of early voting, online voting, hours to vote, which disproportionately affect african-american, latino people, young people. host: illinois. we have about five minutes left. republican bill. caller: i was disappointed you did not broadcast anything on freedom fest. it seems you will not do any broadcasting on scott walker. host: actually, we are.

scott walker, we will have him live on these been -- c-span3. the reason it has to be on c-span3 is because the house of representatives and senate will be in session. part of the reason we have c-span3, and rest assured we will have it on prime time. does that help? caller: no. guest: you are asking a lot. considering if you look at basic cable and broadcast tv, you do not get a good breadth of different views in the country. i do not agree on much with the previous guest, ken blackwell but the mission of c-span is valuable. i see you will have lynn cheney and madea benjamin.

that range is vital. at the end of the day, i may represent a point of view called transpartisanship, but i think it is vital that there is a robust debate in the country of ideas. in that sense, i think c-span will do hillary clinton, scott walker. host: all the candidates. and the freedom fest as well. barbara in new york city. caller: good morning. c-span's flashed the cover of your current issue. i said it said something about the nation's divestment pledge. is that related to the bds movement? has bernie sanders taking your pledge? guest: it is not related to the

bds movement. it is related to a pledge with 350.org. it is a climate divestment pledge. it calls on all candidates to neither accept or solicit campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies. oil and coal companies. the most urgent crisis of our time is the climate crisis. the industry has pumped money into the electoral process and into climate denial bills. scientists who deny climate crisis has a human element. that is the pledge we have put forward. bernie sanders, in our interview, took up the pledge. governor o'malley has taken up

the pledge. joel stein, green party candidate, has taken it up. we have not heard from the clinton campaign or lincoln chafee. jim webb has not joined the campaign. none of the republican campaigns, which we did contact were willing to consider it. host: one more question on the campaign. which republican on the gop side would give hillary clinton assuming she wins the nomination, the best fight? guest: i have two thoughts. the money race is extraordinary. we are seeing different campaigns. we have the wealth primary with the donor class prominent. jeb bush rainy -- raising unprecedented amount of money. scott walker is truly a puppet

of the koch brothers. he is interested in their agenda of eviscerating working people's rights to negotiate a working wage. my father, who is a great political figure and has a very keen political i, he is very astute. he thinks marco rubio may give hillary clinton a run for the money. excuse the expression. i am not so sure. on the money front, jeb bush is poised. on the other hand, i do a radio show with the editor of the national review. she is far more plugged into that circle. he says the lack of enthusiasm for jeb bush is quite astonishing. host: anthony from new york

thank you for waiting on the democratic line. caller: thank you for the opportunity. in light of the callers before, you folks do a remarkable job deciphering so much information. it is like a niagara falls of information on a continuous basis. you are up at 7:00 in the morning, the producers and moderators. i am grateful for that. whenever people call in with comments that are stupid or inconsiderate, i think, there are people who recognize the hard job you have. i am very grateful for having you. when you look at the media overall, it is frightening. c-span really is, as is the nation, the only place you can go to to get information that tries to educate and enlighten rather than shape opinions.

more importantly, back to what we were discussing, i would ask -- during the bush administration, it was kind of a parent that bush and cheney rose to power through enron, which kind of embezzled money. it was a cabal between wall street, the energy sector, and the military-industrial complex. they put these people in power to bring the largest military industrial complex to war. and i just wonder, there is no accountability. nobody has been brought to justice. guest: you raise a fundamental question. by the way, we should remember enron. it didn't prefigure the blowing up -- did prefigure the blowing

up of the financial sector. the lack of accountability is staggering. we saw it last year. in the desire to -- instead of negotiating a deal with iran, which would be that only the most sane outcome, there is no solution to the problems in the middle east than a diplomatic 1 -- but we see people the architects of that debacle back on tv. talking about how we have to go to war. send troops here. this is a recipe for disaster. i am not calling for them not to be permitted on tv. the atlantic said that those that call for the disaster should not be telling us what to do.

but the detriment of accountability in our system, i think we need to think hard about what it says about a system that does not value accountability. that to me is a central question of our time. the other is the danger of a country committed to endless war instead of political diplomatic resolution of conflict. that has to be at the forefront of our mind if we do not want to mortgage our future and find real security instead. host: mike, from spring hill florida. caller: i just want to know -- hello? i want to know why people are complaining that government does a great job. why don't democrats call them

out? guest: i do a weekly column for the washington post. i wrote a post about kansas. is this the model? people dying because they do not have access to medicaid? a governor who puts ideology over human concerns of citizens? i do not want to get caught up in the size of government. i believe government should work on the half of improving the condition of people's lives. it does not have to be about the size. one of the theorists of the right said he wanted to strangle government in the bathtub. this is madness. any sane society have to have a government doing things on behalf of the citizens. government has been corrupted by money, lobbying. we do not kill government. we try to retrieve it and make

it work on behalf of people, of the people, by the people, for the people. the supreme court has come out of the session looking pretty good on some of those decisions on obamacare aca, lgbt rights. but at its core, it is working for the 1%. citizens united, the most extreme example. but every day, there are decisions that benefit corporations and their rights over people's rights. i think we need to have some balancing, some leveling, some fairness. host: our guest has been katrina vanden heuvel. she is editor and publisher of "the nation," america's oldest magazine celebrating its 150th

anniversary this month. >> on the next washington journal, the latest developments in iran nuclear negotiations, and how the committee on benghazi plans to proceed with its investigation. jan schakowsky of illinois, a member of the energy and commerce committee, then mike pompeo of kansas. a member of the select intelligence and benghazi committees. washington journal live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. contribute to the program by telephone, on facebook, and twitter. [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] >> we will watch wisconsin governor scott walker joined the republican field. then hillary clinton talks about her plan for the economy if she is elected. rick santorum tells a group of

reporters that the american family structure will be among the issues he will address in his campaign. martin o'malley discusses election issues concerning latino voters at the national council of la raza's conference in kansas city, missouri. >> wisconsin governor scott walker entered the 2016 presidential race today speaking to supporters in wisconsin for about 45 minutes. ♪

ms. walker: i am so proud of those two. thank you all for being here so that i can present my husband scott walker, to this great country. [applause] ms. walker: last time we were here, we were at the expo center and had just won the recall election. i am proud of scott for winning three elections in four years. when he told me there would be a fourth, i said, what the heck? he would not be standing here today without support from this room. you have not simply been bystanders. you made phone calls, knocked on doors, and prayed for us. we felt the prayers and cannot thank you enough. [applause]

ms. walker: most of you already know scott and have formed an impression. many more will form their impressions in the days to come. my first impression of the man i fell in love with was scott walker is a guy who goes in -- after what he wants. we met at karaoke night 23 years ago at a restaurant. we did not know each other or talk to each other that night. on his way out, he slipped me a napkin with a note on it. i thought it was garbage at first. thank god i did not throw it away. he wrote, forgive me for being rude. i have to get up early tomorrow for work. he left his name and number and asked me to dinner. typical scott -- polite and to the point.

i called him a week later. he likes to say today's later. in fact, he told my roommate on the second date he would marry me. we had a good laugh about that. by august, he proposed at the same restaurant with another napkin. he said, forgive me for being rude, but will you marry me? [laughter] ms. walker: even on our wedding night, we stopped at the restaurant. he wrote a note. thank goodness they have a lot of napkins. scott has never forgotten our anniversary, february 6. that happens to be ronald reagan's birthday. i am sure that, even if it was not his birth, he would remember.

we had our amazing sons, matt and alex. [applause] ms. walker: scott puts our sons first and taught them the value of faith. our family is excited to start the new venture. the people of wisconsin have formed an impression of scott. with three elections in four years, they have a second and third impression too. ultimately, our fellow wisconsinites voted for him to continue leading our great state. three elections in four years can take its toll on any family. but when you have a strong,

supportive faith based husband it makes the journey easier. [applause] ms. walker: no matter how personal the attacks became, i am proud of the way scott handled it. you never made it personal. instead, he worked tirelessly with state legislature to reform a broken system. together they won. scott taught our sons that if you stay respectful and strong, you can get through anything. [applause] ms. walker: when scott took on the unions, our family became the target of vicious and personal attacks. threats of violence were common.

i spent many sleepless nights worrying about my family. during the recall elections on any given day, there were thousands of people protesting in front of the state capital. protesting in front of our personal home. [booing] ms. walker: but scott stood up for his beliefs. he has proven that he wins. he took on the unions and won. taxes have gone down. school districts can keep the best and the brightest teachers in the classrooms, and multiple governments have more power. isn't that the way we want things to be? [applause] ms. walker: it was never easy but it was worth it, and wisconsin wins with walker. [cheering] ms. walker: we here in wisconsin

are better off today than we were four years ago. families and taxpayers and hard-working wisconsin men and women win with walker. [cheering] ms. walker: our concern now turns to all of america's sons and daughters. our children and our grandchildren deserve in america as great as what we've experienced, or even better. today, we face challenges at home and abroad. meeting those challenges will require conservative leadership and a person with a proven record of winning. someone who will not be intimidated by anyone. starting today, you and the american people will begin to learn more about my husband, his achievements, his service, and his story. i hope that you will know him as a loving husband, thoughtful father, and fearless leader that

i know and love. i have been honored to support my husband's conservative work to build a better wisconsin, and i have no doubt he will build a better america. [cheering] ms. walker: i am so very proud to introduce my husband to the people of this great nation. ladies and gentlemen, the 45th governor of wisconsin, and the person that i hope will be the 45th president of the united states, scott walker. [cheering] ♪

gov. walker: thank you, thank you. [chanting] gov. walker: thank you. thank you, thank you. [cheering] gov. walker: i love america. [cheering] gov. walker: you know, as kids my brother david and i used to love to go over and visit one of our neighbors. he was a bit of a legend in our small town.

he had served our country in world war i and world war ii. [cheering] gov. walker: then, like so many other veterans, he came back and served his community. over the years, we used to love to see him at the concession stand. he helped out in our church and he was the leader of my boy scout troop. i remember over the years, before memorial day, he would organize me and all the others to go through and put up flags on the graves of the fallen. [cheering] gov. walker: it was impossible to be around him and not share his love for god and country. i think back 30 years ago -- he helped me attend a program, and it was there that i learned about state and local government. along the way, it was interesting -- i got the chance

to be selected to represent wisconsin in the program and washington, d.c. there, i met another veteran from georgia by the name of bob turner. bob and all the other veterans that ran that program not only taught us about the federal government, the national elections, they share their love for our country, and they inspired within me the importance of public service when it comes to defending our liberties. veterans like that remind me that what makes america great is the fact that america is a new kind of country. unfortunately we have a government in washington that can't quite seem to get the job done. washington, or 68 square miles surrounded by reality, the good news is it is not too late. we can turn things around. [cheering]

gov. walker: to do that, we need new, fresh leadership. leadership with big, bold ideas from outside washington, the kind of leadership that knows how to get things done like we have done here in wisconsin. [cheering] gov. walker: since i have been governor, we took on the unions and we won. [cheering] gov. walker: we lowered the taxes by $2 billion. we lowered taxes on individuals, and on employers, on property owners, property taxes today are lower than they were four years ago. how many other governors can say that? [cheering]

gov. walker: since i've been governor, we've passed lawsuit reform, regulatory reform. we defunded planned parenthood and passed pro-life legislation. [cheering] gov. walker: we enacted doctrines for concealed carry so we can protect ourselves, our families, and our property. [cheering] gov. walker: and we now require a photo id to vote in the state. [cheering] gov. walker: if our reforms can work in a blue state like wisconsin, they can work anywhere in america. [cheering] gov. walker: as i travel this country, i got to tell you -- i hear from people who say they

are frustrated with politicians, telling people what they are against and who they are against. america is one of for something and for someone, so let me tell you what i am for. [cheering] gov. walker: i am for reform growth, safety, i am for transferring power from washington into the hands of hard-working taxpayers in states all across the country -- that is real reform. [cheering] gov. walker: i am for building a better economy that allows everyone to live there piece of the american dream -- that is progrowth. [cheering] gov. walker: and i am for protecting our children and our grandchildren from radical islamic terrorism in all the threats in the world -- that is true safety. [cheering]

gov. walker: my record shows that i know how to fight and win. now more than ever, america needs a president who will fight and win for america. [cheering] gov. walker: so first, let me tell you why i will reform washington. our big, bold reforms here in wisconsin took the power out of the hands of the big government special interest and put them firmly into the hands of a hard-working taxpayer. today in this state, people who are elected by local property tax payers literally run our schools. that means we got rid of things like seniority and tenure. that means we can hire and fire based on merit and pay based on

performance. [cheering] gov. walker: think about that -- four years later, graduation rates are up. third-grade reading scores are higher. wisconsin's act scores are now second best in the country. [cheering] gov. walker: that goes to show that a government that protects the people is the best. that is why we need to take power and money out of washington and send it back to our states in areas like medicaid in education. [cheering]

gov. walker: sadly, though washington seems to think that success is measured by how many people are dependent on the government. [booing] gov. walker: we measure success by just the opposite -- by how many people are no longer dependent on the government. [cheering] gov. walker: we understand that true freedom of prosperity does not come from the mighty hand of the government. they come from the power and people that control their own lives, that it is born of work. [cheering] gov. walker: as a kid, my first job was washing dishes at the country restaurant. then i moved up to the big time

-- i started flipping hamburgers in high school at mcdonald's to save up for college. my dad, who you heard before was a small-town preacher, and my mom was a part-time secretary and bookkeeper. my grandparents were farmers who didn't have indoor plumbing until my mom went to junior high school. my dad's dad was a machinist for 42 years. my brother and i fought throughout the years and we realized we didn't inherit fame or fortune. what we got was the belief that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can do and be anything. [cheering] gov. walker: that's right. you see, that is the american

dream, and that is worth fighting for. when we help people, when we help people, adults are able to work, transition from government dependence to true independence, we help more people live that piece of the american dream. we have a program right here in wisconsin that requires people to sign up for one of our employability programs before they can get a welfare check and now we make that a requirement for people to pass a drug test. [cheering] gov. walker: you can only imagine what the defenders of the status quo thought when i proposed this reform. i was making it harder to get government assistance. my reply? no, i'm making it easier to get a job.

isn't that what it's all about? [cheering] gov. walker: strong families are important in this world. you know that strong families are important and we know the children are raised in a household and are more like finish school and get a good job. we need a federal government that can stand up and get rid of the marriage penalty and welfare policies that make it hard for fathers to play an active role. we need to encourage families. i