$250 billion in tax breaks to the top 0.2%. brothers and sisters, those are not the priorities of the american people and we will not accept that. [applause] and then when you have many republicans, including a number of presidential candidates, coming before us telling us we have to cut social security, let me tell you that i will not cut social security. to cut social t me tell you that i will not cut social security. we have millions of seniors trying to survive on $13,000 per year. in fact, what we are going to do

is lift the cap on taxable income and expand social security benefits -- not cut them. [applause] as i mentioned earlier, as a nation, i believe we have made significant progress in ending racism in this country, but there is no doubt in my mind that we still have a very, very long way to go. when i talk about racism, i'm not just talking about a very walks into aho charleston, s.c., prayer session who prays with people in the room and takes out a gun to kill line of them because of the color of their skin is different than his. not even talking about the hundreds of groups in this , whose, hate groups

whole function and existence is to promote hatred against jews,, gays, immigrants, catholics, anyone who is different than they are. i'm also talking about the sad truth that for many, many years you have unarmed african americans killed while in police custody. that is unacceptable and that has got to change. [applause] we need major, major reforms in criminal justice in this country. i was the mayor of burlington for eight years and i worked very closely with our police department and the vast majority of police officers in this country work hard.

many of them are underpaid, overworked. many have crazy schedules which impact their families and they are trying to do their best under very difficult circumstances, but like any other public official, when a police officer breaks the law, that officer must be held accountable. [applause] when we talk about creating the nation we must become, in my view, we have to understand we have 11 million people in this country who are undocumented and, in my view, we should not be demagogue in this people. we should not be attacking them in a vicious language. we should not be calling them rapists and criminals when the vast majority of them are hard-working.

in night view, what we need to do in this country is moved towards comprehensive immigration reform and a path towards citizenship. [applause] all of you know -- i wish i could tell you differently but it's the truth -- we live in a very crazy, complicated, dangerous world. turn on the tv and you see things that make you nauseous. cutting off people's heads, turning children into sexual slaves. horrible, horrible things. you -- anyone who says they have a magical solution to these problems is not telling you the truth. heard what george w. bush and dick cheney and donald rumsfeld had to say about iraq back in 2002. i listened to what they said.

i analyzed to what they said and i concluded that they were not telling the truth. [applause] and that is why i voted against the war in iraq. [applause] i am not proud or happy to tell you that if you go to youtube or my website and read what i said back then about my fears of what would happen in terms of the destabilization of that region, a lot of what i said turned out to be true. right now, we have another global situation, foreign policy situation. i believe it's imperative that notron not get a -- iran get eight nuclear weapon.

what we've got to do is everything we can to achieve that goal without going to war. [applause] and that is why i strongly with the president and secretary kerry have negotiated but i think a great nation like ours should do everything possible to resolve international conflict without going to war understanding that war is the last resort not the first resort. [applause] of you sanders: many

been very patient. it's probably a topic there as it is a year. let me conclude by saying this. we are the wealthiest nation in the world, we are a smart people and an incredibly hard-working people. some divide ust black orther we are white or hispanic or asian, if we do not allow them to divide us up into whether we are a man or woman whether we are gay or whether we are straight whether we're born in this country are born somewhere else, when we stand together there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. everything that i've told you, this is not utopian, this is stuff that exists in many cases in other countries around the world. what we've got to do to make pleasehings happen

engage in a political revolution which says that millions of our friends who don't know who have given up on the political process, they have got to get involved they got to start standing up and fighting not only for themselves but for their kids and their parents. [applause] senator sanders: that's all. that's what a political revolution is about. in saying no and not asking her to spend as much time discussing the important issues facing our country as we do worried about the newington patriots. i would not ask that of you. that is too much. but at least let's reach out to our friends and say we are fighting for the future of this country let stand together and make this political revolution.

thank you all very much. [applause] senator sanders: thank you. who has the mic? let's take a few questions. >> i first want to thank you for all of the great things you have done for our country. senator sanders: thank you.

i'm a student in new hampshire and i will be voting in the next election. one of the things that matters most to myself and to a growing generation of younger voters of millennial's is internet privacy. i'd like for you to share your thoughts about the national security agency and surveillance. senator sanders: thank you. excellent question. it's funny. vermont and new hampshire on issues of civil liberties and privacy, i think we feel very strongly. stronger than many other parts of the country. i've honestly heard people say i don't care. i'm not a terrorist what do i care. i think that's a pretty sad statement. i think the privacy rights, the

right to know that you can live your life read whatever you want to read, that's your business it's not the government. by the way it's not just the it's not corporate america's business as well. they have more information [applause] i want you tos: know couple of things. it is clear to everybody or should be the technology as far outpaced public policy. you know that this little thingamajig here enables somebody to know exactly where i am at this moment. that's a fact. between the governments intercepting of your phone calls and logging them and between corporate america knowing everything you buy and maybe getting into your medical records in your banking records,

i think we've seen a huge invasion of civil liberties and our constitutional rights and american privacy. let me just say this to you. number one you are looking at a guy when it was not popular, this was after 9/11 i voted against the usa patriot act. and that was not popular. i voted against the reauthorization because i believe -- do i believe the terrorism of the real threat to this country? i surely do. there are people who want to hurt us and we have to do everything we can to protect our people, but i happen to believe we can do that without undermining the constitution of the united states and the privacy rights of the american people. there is an enormous amount of work that has to be done public policy has not kept up with technology.

technology is exploding every single day. in my view, the american people should be allowed to live their lives without the government and corporate america knowing as much about them as they currently do. >> i came from pennsylvania to help with your office opening in manchester and before i go home i just wanted us to a very important question. we talk about the importance of overturning citizens united. functions the same way did in 1700s by having representatives who represent corporate interests, we today have the technology to represent ourselves in the legislative office by simply logging onto

do you think the key to a political revolution to overrule citizens united is to bring congress into the 21st century by allowing people to represent themselves directly in the legislative process? think it's ars: i little more complicated than that to be honest with you. technology andat social media and the internet have radically transformed the nature of american society. from a very personal point of view, my campaign would not be doing as well as it is if we were not communicating with many millions of people through social media. i would answer your question in saying i think we've got to expand the ability of the american people to communicate with their members of congress

and as president i would certainly do that, but i don't think that you can just run the government through the internet. i'm old-fashioned enough to believe we should be electing people to represent us. [applause] >> i'm a little fashion to. i wanted to talk about the idea of disenfranchisement and helping people vote. one of the suggestions that has been said could be done is to have a day off on election days to working people could get to the polls and vote and set of having to give up their days pay to be able to go vote. another suggestion would be to investigate the motivation call theat i would disenfranchisement movement of keeping people from voting which seems to be taking hold in a lot of different places. unlike you to address that if you could. senator sanders: you're right on

both counts. we have introduced legislation to make voting day a national holiday. we done that. we have one of the lower board -- voter turnouts of any major country on earth. a lot of reasons for it, but clearly in every way we should try to make it easier for people to participate in the political process not harder. you are very kind and your second question about what we call voter suppression. questionable it is not hard to understand why certain states i.e. republican states with republican governors and republican legislatures are in fact making it harder for people to vote. i will tell you.

office, i have to go out to the people of my state and tell them what i believe. it has never once occurred to me to figure out a way to make it hard for people to vote because they might disagree with me. that's cowardly. for all those governors and all those legislatures who are figuring out how you can make it if youfor people to vote don't have the guts to defend your political ideas get a new job. [applause]

>> good evening. thank you so much for coming. this is a question regarding something very dear to me and i believe extreme important to the future of people in this country and across the globe. as a member of the biology community doing research at harvard medical school, i was wondering what specific ideas you have for policies to increase awareness education and especially funding for scientific research and especially for medical research. one of theders: dismaying thing that is going on in congress right now a congress which is controlled by a very asht-wing republican party they prefer to give huge tax breaks to the very wealthiest people in this country rather than invest in education and in

scientific research. if we look at medicine america where we are today we know that if we don't get a handle and try to come up with some kind of effective cure or treatment for alzheimer's were going to be spending unbelievable sums of money. we know we are seeing a next lotion and diabetes and and other illnesses. i think obviously both in terms of trying to save lives prevent suffering, and by the way let me throw in another issue maybe not your issue of another issue mental health issues. we have a huge mental health crisis. investing in trying to understand the causation of those illnesses and figure out ways we can treat them is that human and smart thing to do. and by the way saves us money. the last point i would make on that i want everybody here to

know that in america we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. of five americans go to the doctor of the doctorate superscription and you can't afford to fill it. what sense is that? we've got to demand that we have legislation. to make sure that the pharmaceutical industry in this country stops ripping off the american people. couple more. i just came up from boston. i'm a student at northeastern. one of the things i'm most worried about is that my debt is going to be massive in five years. every year my tuition a $63,000. for private institutions across

america, tuitions are ridiculously high and i appreciate the fact are trying to make up against three. but i'm currently worried about's private loans. the interest rates are ridiculous lehigh, monthly to be a .26 and am one of the lowest of my friends. it can go up to 25. senator sanders: this is insanity. i gather the question is working to do about it. everything being equal, you will ande school deeply in debt pay an 8% interest rate and probably pay 20 to 25% of the income that you're earning when you leave school. it's going to tire hands as to what you can do in your life and limit your opportunities. i have talked in my state to a young woman whose crime in life was that she went to medical school and just our primary care

physician working with low income people. exactly the kind of doctors that we need. her death was $300,000. crisis inmajor dental america. not enough dentists, not affordable dentistry. i talked to a young woman in iowa, left dental school $400,000 in debt. there's a lot that we can do. let me summarize by saying you should not be paying 8.2% interest rates. if you go outit and get home and you want to refinance your home you can do it at two or 3%. why should you be second eight or 10%? what our legislation does two things. number one it says to you is go out and get the lowest interest rate that you can they will be a hell of a lot lower than 8.2%. you will be frozen. number two the federal government should not be making ifens of dollars in profits

we do those two things, it will substantially lower yours -- total student debt, what you have to pay off. burning your to make public colleges and universities tuition free and lower student at, how are you going to pay for that? it's expensive? it by puttingr attacks on wall street speculation. when wall street crashed the middle class in this country bailed them out. it's wall street's turn to help the middle class. last question.

>> i'm from massachusetts. as an engineering student, i right now to know there's a lot of jobs out there that require two years of experience for you to be able to get hired and i would like to know what's your opinion on that, when you think we can do to fix the problem is a lot of students for them to be able to they had to go and get an internship and a lot of those internships are hard to get because there's a lot of competition and there's a lot of people going for those positions. i would like to know what is your opinion on that? senator sanders: let me tell you this. on the issue of internships, in many ways it is a modern form of

explication. and i will be honest with you. i did not fully appreciate that until a few years ago. sis you.ndicated me on here's the story and i think it's relevant to your western. if a person comes from a family can has money that person in turn for nothing make contacts learn what he or she has to learn right and apply for a job. and they say look i interned here and you get hired. have appens if you don't lot of money? are you going to be able to do an internship or zero pay? you can do that. what i learned from that. we change our policies in washington. we have interns in my senate office. those -- most interns in washington are paid zero. we now pay them the highest for justany office

that reason. not the 12 bucks an hour is high on the hall, but at least they while getting their internship experience. let me thank you all for being our here this morning. it's good discussion, we have in enormous amount of work to do. stand a very good chance of winning here in new hampshire with your help. if we do well here in new hampshire i think we will we're going to have a path toward victory and we're going to make history and we will make a political revolution wally make history. thank you all very much. [applause]

♪ senator sanders: thank you for coming. videos.ched the

>> ok. >> thank you very much. thank you.ders: >> you are inspiring. >> thank you so much. >> you are wonderful. >> thank you. senator sanders: thank you. >> good. >> senator?

>> congratulations. you are doing a great job. [indiscernible]

>> how do you do that? that is the question. how do you do that?

announcer: wisconsin governor scott walker said he is pulling out of the republican presidential race. overhe announced his bid two months ago, he was considered one of the front runner. governor walker: good afternoon. first of all thank you for , coming. i want to say on behalf of our

family, we want to extend our sympathies to the family of wisconsin supreme court justice patrick brooks, we want to pass on our prayers and sympathy to him and his family, certainly his wife and children and his extended family. we'll have more to come on that in days to come. as a kid i was drawn to ronald reagan because he was a republican and a conservative. most of all, i admired him because of his eternal optimism in the american people. that thought came into my head when we were all standing on the stage at the reagan library last wednesday. ronald reagan was good for america because he was an optimist. sadly, the debate taking place in the republican party today is not focused on that optimistic view of america. instead, it has drifted into personal attacks. in the end, i believe that the voters want to be for something

and not against someone. instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear how we can make them better for everyone. we need to get back to the basis of our party. we are a party that believes that people create jobs, not the government. and the best way to grow the economy is to get the government out of the way and build it from the ground up. we are a party that believes that the way to measure success in government is by how many people are no longer dependent on the government because we believe in the dignity of work. we are the party that believes that strong military leads to peace through strength and that will protect our children and future generations. that good will ultimately triumph over evil. we are a party that believes in the american people, not the federal government. these ideas will help us win the election next fall and more importantly, these ideas will

make our country great again. to refocus the debate on these issues will require vision. as i was sitting in church yesterday, the pastor's words reminded me that the bible is full of stories of people called to be leaders in unusual ways. today i believe i'm being called to lead by helping clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field. with this in mind, i'll suspend my campaign immediately. i encourage other republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same so voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current frontrunner. this is fundamentally important to the future of the party and more importantly to the future of our country.

this is a difficult decision. as so many wonderful people stepped up to support our campaign. we are very thankful for the many outstanding volunteers and the excellent staff who helped us throughout the campaign. you all have been like family to us. speaking of family, i want to personally thank my wife who has been a rock as well as our two amazing sons, matt and alex. i thank my parents and my brother david and his family and all our other family and friends for the love and support. most of all, i want to thank god. i want to thank god for his abundant grace. win or lose, it has always been more than enough. thank you. >> the pope's visit to the u.s. and c-span have live coverage.

tuesday afternoon beginning at 3:45 p.m. on c-span. we are live with the president and mrs. obama to meet the pontiff. the welcoming ceremony for the obama's welcome him to the white house. coverage begins at a 40 5 a.m.. -- math and canonization and mass and canonization thursday morning. as popeive coverage francis makes history book, the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of congress. ase coverage from new york the pope speaks to the united nations general assembly. and later at 11:30 a.m., the pontiff will hold a service at the 9/11 memorial. follow c-span's coverage of the pope's historic trip on tv or online.

announcer: presidential candidate chris christie sackett down for an interview with wmur in new hampshire. he talked about the 2016 race and his experience as governor. this is 25 minutes. >> this is a wmur special in partnership with the new hampshire institute of politics and with support from save the children action network. now, conversation with the candidate -- tonight, new jersey governor, chris christie. [applause] >> good evening and welcome to our conversation. our guest is new jersey governor, chris christie. we will be getting to know governor christie and where he

stands on the key issues. a quick look at the candidate's biography. in 1962ristie was born and grew up in livingston. he has lived in the state his entire life except to go to college in delaware. after college, he graduated in 1987 and joined a private firm where he ultimately became a partner. he was elected as a freeholder in morris county and served as director of the board. he was named u.s. attorney and led the team that thwarted a plan to attack fort dix. he was reelected to a second term. he wants to reform social security, medicare and kernel justice system and create any taxes them and make college more accessible. he's often joined on the campaign trail by his wife and

they have 4 children. good to see you. let me start with the expectations or maybe the burden of expectation is better. in 2012, you are the republican savior and now you are stuck in a crowded field. what happened? gov. christie: first off, i decided not to run and i felt comfortable not running in 2012 and my decision to support mitt romney. no one ever gets to be president of the united states without working hard and i am not allergic to hard work. josh: the bridge issue, do you think that that hurt you? gov. christie: you had relentless news coverage where i was tried, prosecuted and convicted. after three different

investigations, they have all said the same thing -- that what i said the day i found out after this is i had no involved in and i did what leaders do. you're accountable. i've fired the people who appeared to have an responsible and set new standards in my office in terms of checking on all of these different things and moving on. with 60,000 people working for you as governor, you can't know what everyone is doing. it hurt me because the media coverage was so incredibly biased and incredibly wrong. but you live with it and move on. here i am running for president of the united states. i will let the people of new jersey judgment on my merits. josh: how often are you asked about public integrity? gov. christie: i'm a former united states attorney and we have prosecuted and convicted over 100 officials for public corruption.

we do not lose one case in my 70 years. -- seven years. people know my record and know how strong it is. i have to tell you in new hampshire nobody ever asks me about that. josh: you are running a campaign based on telling it like it is and there is a candidate, you seem like your message is getting overshadowed or exploited to a degree? i will mention a name, but he is taking up a lot of oxygen. is that making it difficult for people to break through? gov. christie: sure. it makes it hard if any one person is getting the overwhelming majority of media attention, free media attention. it makes it harder for people to break through. but let's take a deep breath. it is early. people in new hampshire are not voting for another five and a half months. there's a lot of time to make a decision about not who's the most famous entertaining but or most entertaining but who is going to be the best person to lead a country? after seven years, it has been

so misled by the president that we need a new president who is going to shoot straight, tell us what we need to hear and not be afraid to make hard decisions. i think when people focus on that, we will do very well. josh: with you telling it like it is, telling the truth, sometimes it hurts and obviously you are open to saying all kinds of different things when it comes to how you feel. but in this giant field right now, was going to separate you heading into the homes stretch? gov. christie: americans for tax just came out with a report saying i have vetoed more tax increases than any governor in the history of the united states. if you want someone who is going to stand up to congress as president and force them to actually do the work, i am your guy. if you want to find someone who stood up to a democrat in the new jersey legislature and said no to taxes and higher over 800and cut

programs to balance the budget. i am your guy. that's what people are going to get to know about me -- a very conservative record in new jersey and the only person who has put forward a detailed plan to reform entitlements in this country. because it is 71% of all federal spending is entitlements and debt servicing. if we continue to do that, we are on our way to being greece. we need a strong leader that will say no. josh: will talk about that and much more. we will take a break and get to the audience? stay with us. josh: welcome back to our conversation with republican governor chris christie. time to bring in the audience with their question. i will jump in as needed. first question comes from laura flanagan. take it away. >> what message do you want to

distinguish or separate yourself from the rest of the field? gov. christie: first off, i have governed in one of the bluest states in america. i would give my right arm to have one easy week. i had a democratic legislature and yet the whole time, yet what we have done is lower taxes by $2.5 billion on businesses that helped create 195,000 new jobs. we have reformed teacher tenure, great teachers are protected and bad teachers can be fired. well done capping a property taxes for the first time ever in new jersey of the slowing down of property taxes in our state. all of that was done, including reforming pension for public workers with a democratic legislature. i am battle tested for washington, d.c.

i'm the person who has been able to deal with reaching across the aisle and making things work. the biggest thing people are first read about in this country is no one works with anyone anymore. i have the experience reaching across the aisle and talking to democrats. in my state if i don't work , with democrats, i will be working alone in the statehouse. it makes me different from the other governors running and certainly the folks from washington, d.c. are part of the problem and not the solution. josh: the next question is from viola. >> my question is about social security. if elected as president, how would you protect social security instrument and for future generations? gov. christie: i'm the only candidate in this race who has put out a plan on this out of 17.

i am the only one. here is how we would do it. there's a study that says social security, if we do nothing, will be bankrupt in seven to eight years. this is not something we can stand. while living longer lives, the average life expectancy of a woman is 83 and a man is 79. the fact is these programs were built for people when they passed away in their 60's. it is a blessing. we live a longer life. let's raise the retirement age andi say raise it two years phase it in over 25 years. one month a year increase for 25 years. i don't think anyone will wind up being hurt by that. certainly not to the people on social security or near receiving it. i don't think the wealthy who second, retire wealthy should be getting social security. if you make over $200,000 in retirement income a year, that means you have $4 million or $5 million saved. i don't think you should get social security. social security is insurance for

people who have worked hard, played the rules and paid into the system to make sure they don't grow old in poverty and choose between rent, heat, and food. if someone is making $200,000 a year in retirement, i don't think they need social security. the alternative is what mrs. clinton wants to take the caps off of social security taxes. here is the thing. do you really want to give the government more money? this is the same government who said they were going to put in a trust fund. ious.s left is a stack of they have spent all that money already. so if you have two ways to solve a problem -- less benefits and more revenue, why would any of us want to give the united states government more revenue?

i wouldn't. what you are trying to get at is people make a lot of money. you are getting those people on the backend. if you have that much money put aside, god bless you, good job. your country did great by you helping you have those opportunities. but we will let -- if we give them your money, they will find something else to spend it on. that is what i would do to help social security. that would save over $1.2 trillion and make that system secure. josh: a big topic in this race. the next one comes from mckinsey nicholson. >> you have said you would like to repeal and replace obamacare. can you tell me what your plan would look like and how you would ensure low income families don't lose access to the health care plans they currently receive in new hampshire? gov. christie: there is no way the government in washington, d.c. should be running the health care system for the country. it makes no sense. our two states are about the same size geographically but, in

this state, you have 1.3 million people. in this state, you have 8.9 million people. the differences in problems between health care are really stark. when you have people spread out across the state, access to health care is by distance and and you cannot get to the specialist because it is such a long way away. in new jersey, we trip over a hospital every four miles. they are everywhere. our excess problem is cost. let's get rid of obamacare. let's mandate that every state comes up with a plan that works for its state. things that work in new hampshire may not work in new jersey the right way and what happens in new jersey is very different than what happens in wyoming or antenna. i trust the governors and state legislatures to make these decisions. i like that because you can have a greater effect. you cannot figure out what is going on in the d.c., but we trip over hospitals in new jersey.

you trip over state representatives in new hampshire. you have 400 of them. everywhere i go, i see a state rep. the great thing is you have the influence to go to those state reps and center -- senators and say this health care system is not working for me. the access point is to make sure everyone has access to care financially and where they live. we need to develop that kind of system in new hampshire. in new jersey, it is built on cost. when people can't afford to get insurance, they go to the emergency room and when they go to the emergency room, they get bad care and it costs a lot more. let states run these things. remember what the constitution says -- all the power the federal government has is listed here. everything not listed here goes back to the states. i do not see health care listed there. i trust the governor to do the right way -- i don't trust her -- governor hassan on a lot but i trust her on this and i trust the legislature to

get it done. josh: a lot of people are already in this system, it is a reasonable to scrap it? gov. christie: it is absolutely right to scrap the whole thing. if the state wants to keep some -- certain portions, it is up to the states. let them make the decisions. the federal government should not be like bigfoot in this area. who really believes that giving more power and money to washington, d.c. is a good idea? i certainly don't. josh: let's go to social media. what is your problem with legalizing marijuana? gov. christie: i have a few problems with it. first of all, it is against the law now. this is part of the lawlessness of this president. if there's certain laws he doesn't like he doesn't , enforce them. he doesn't like the marijuana laws, so he does not change

them. he says to colorado and washed, if you do not like them, don't worry about. station where he cities, if you do not want to their sanctuary -- sanctuary cities, if you do not want to follow immigration laws, don't worry about it. i took an oath, put my hand on the bible and said i'm going to enforce the laws in the state of new jersey. it did nothing enforce the laws i like. if people want to change it, they have to change it through congress. but the second problem is that it is a gateway drug. new hampshire has the same problem as new jersey an epidemic of drug , abuse. we know marijuana affects your brain in a negative way. we know it leads to other drugs. why do we want to legalize something? the argument is alcohol is legal. does that mean two wrongs make a right? we should not be doing that.

it hurts young people, it hurts older people. it's not necessarily needed. in my state we have a medical , marijuana program and i have allowed to go for people who need to get relief. i think that is asking about legalizing for recreational use and i'm against it. if i'm president of the united states, get high right now in colorado and washington, because if i'm president, we are going to get back to enforcing the law. josh: the heroin epidemic is very real in new hampshire. do candidates need to be talking about going to the source of the problem which is across our , border somewhere? a lot of people are seeing the effect of this every day. gov. christie: i have said we need to embed the fbi and dea agents to try to interdict guns and drugs from coming across the border. but let's be honest. the biggest problem is demand in the united states. if demand for drugs was not the

high in the united dates, the drugs would not be possible to send over here. we need to deal with that side. what would've done in new jersey is to say for first time, nonviolent drug offenders, people charged with possession, which is over 50% of our prison population, we don't incarcerate those people anymore. we don't do this in new jersey. we say you go for mandatory inpatient treatment. we want to change lives. i want to save lives in my state. we need to treat these folks. it is a disease. my mother was a lifetime smoker and she knew from 1964 forward that smoking was bad for her. she knew that but continued to smoke and ultimately got lung cancer at 71 years old. no one said to us don't treat your mother -- she's getting what she deserves. yet we do that with people addicted to other drugs.

moral judgmenta on them. they made a bad decision. there is nobody in this audience today who hasn't made a bad decision in your life. a judge make you wish you could take place. we are fortunate, there but for the grace of god go i. we need to treat these folks. if we gave them the treatment tolls, we can save lives. we are not incarcerating ourselves out of this problem. since web done this our prison , population in new jersey is down 31%. try to find another state where you see that happening and the recidivism rate, without drug court, over 60% recidivism. with the courts, 16%. -- with drug courts, 16%. we can make a difference, and if i am president of the united date, we will have a drug court in every federal district court in this country so we can stop putting people in jail and get them on the road to recovering their lives. josh: let's move on to the next question from facebook.

maureen gates is asking a big one -- what would you do about isis? gov. christie: first, i would not have called in jv and ignore them for the first year like this president. this is the same president and secretary of state who said we had a reset button with russia and after we reset, here is what happens -- they are invading ukraine and they have taken crimea. so what do we do? we have to learn from our lessons in iraq. i do know what the united states to be an occupying power in the middle east. let's start first with our allies -- egypt, saudi's, the united arab emirates and the jordanians. they want this fight. they want to take on isis. let's give them the best arms we can give them in the most sophisticated weaponry and train them down to the battalion level on how to use this weaponry. let's give them the best intelligence we can get. human and electronic. isis is everywhere. they are all over the region.

it's like going out a nationstate. fourth, let's use the united states air force to soften up the target. i would not say would never use american troops. if isis continues to win, we may have to continue to do it, but that should not be our first resort. wish a letter the allies in their neighborhood -- we should let the allies in their neighborhood help. the last part is they need a president who knows when he gives his word, he is going to keep it. this presence and if assad uses chemical weapons, we will take him out. then when he did and killed 230,000 of his own people, the president said never mind. allies cannot count on you and adversaries don't fear you. i guarantee one thing if i am president -- that allies will know we are friends and adversaries will know the limits of my patients. josh: let's talk about immigration. gov. christie: there are four steps you need to take to secure the border.

first is to build fencing or walling in appropriate laces. i do not favor a wall across the entire border. it's too expensive. it does not make sense. i've never seen a wall or fence that a determined human being cannot get through or around. there are no easy answers. but in urban areas, you need fencing or walling where there is a lot of people. second, we need to do what i said about agents embedded with the border patrol to interdict guns and drugs coming across the border. we need to use electronic surveillance, drawings and cameras -- drones and cameras in the more remote parts of the border to send information so to know where to best than human intelligence and send border patrol agents to interdict people getting across the border. and we need to use e-verify. remember what is happening here. unlike what hillary clinton will tell you, these people are not coming across the border to vote or become citizens.

they are coming here to work. they want a job. if we had e-verify and every employer were forced to use it, in the foes new if they came here illegally, they could not get a job. if the only way to get a job is to come here legally, they would stop coming. we need to fine businesses who do not use e-verify. we have to look in the mirror. the business community is part of the problem. they want cheaper labor to make bigger profits. i have no problem with the making profits, but higher legal -- hire legal citizens who are here. do not hire illegals. if we do those things, we will secure the border and we can move on and deal with the immigration issue. illegal immigration which will be important. minutes.ouple more you assure, how can

voters that once you get into the white house and office that your campaign promises, your campaign policies will become programs and laws when you're faced with the inertia of partisanship and politics in politics in washington. could you comment on that reduction as an example of how you will embrace that. christie: you have to look at our record. i do not think there is a governor who has operated as a conservative and more hostile territory than i have in new jersey. i have not used an excuse. in the eight years before i became governor -- zero in eight years. we came in, we got a $2.3 billion tax cut to create jobs. we cut spending. we balance the budget. we did it by cutting over 800 programs and vetoing tax

increases. we got things done with a democratic legislature. do -- i have can shown i can do it. you've got to be willing to work with the congress. i will stand up when i need to. you need to develop a personal relationship. it is not an excuse to close down the government. you are sent there to govern. do your job here at that means developing relationships. -- do your job. that means developing relationships. last week was the first time boehner was on air force one. you want to sit in the oval office, you want to eat the m&ms? we need to meet with each other. there are only two ways to lower the debt, spend less and grow our economy.

we are not going to cut our way out of this. i have a detailed plan on growing our economy. look at what i have done in new jersey. we spent $2.5 billion less on general fund spending today than we did in fiscal year 2008. that is not growth, that is actual dollars. find another state where that is going on. i have done it before. i will use my new jersey gentle persuasion. >> you did it with four seconds to spare. keep in mind this conversation continues on our mobile app. thanks for watching. thank you for governor christie for being here. [applause] ♪

>> all caps a long, c-span takes you on the road to the white house. access to the candidates. townhall meetings. news compasses, rallies and speeches. we are taking your comments on twitter. always, every campaign event we cover is available on our website at c-span.org. next a conversation with lincoln chafee. mr. chafee was a republican and is now running for president as a democrat. he set down with w m you are tv tv in newur hampshire. >> this is a wmur commitment 2016 special. with financial support from save the children action network.

now, "conversation with the candidate." tonight, former rhode island governor lincoln chafee. josh: good evening, everyone. welcome to our "conversation with the candidate" series. our guest this evening is former rhode island governor lincoln chafee. will be getting to know governor chafee and where he stands on the issues. we will go to the studio audience for a town hall format afterward. before any of that, let's look at the candidate biography. lincoln chafee was born in warwick, rhode island, in 1950 three and earned a degree in the classics in 1955. after graduation, he attended montana state university and worked as a blacksmith at harness racetracks throughout the u.s. and canada. after returning to rhode island where he worked in manufacturing, he served on the warwick city council and in 1992 was elected mayor of warwick and was reelected three times.

in 1999, he was appointed as a republican to the united states senate to fill the vacancy left his father. in 2000, he was elected to a full term and was then elected governor of rhode island in 2010. he's running for president, though, as a democrat. he believes in promoting prosperity through peaceful means, removing certain loop holes in tax cuts and working to reduce greenhouse gases. he is married and has three children. with that, governor chafee, good to see you. horse shoeing school, how did that happen? mr. chafee: i wanted to learn a trade while i was in college, and i saw an ad or for suing -- and added for horse shoeing school. i worked around horses growing up. i worked mostly in alberta, canada, for about seven years. josh: i that that is unique to

the presidential field, no doubt. let's talk about your campaign. people know in rhode island and new hampshire, but outside of region, probably a lot of people are unfamiliar with lincoln chafee. why are you running? mr. chafee: i care deeply about where we are going as a country, and my experience is unique of all the candidates running, democrat or republican. i'm the only one with that local, federal, and state experience as a mayor, senator, and governor, and also through that time, high ethical standards, no scandals. the experience, character, and the vision of having a more peaceful world, working together with our united nations partners -- that is my vision for the world. why i care about the future and why i am running for the president. josh: the question is how do you break through? you are in a field with hillary clinton, bernie sanders. according to some polls, he is

leading in new hampshire. martin o'malley is working very hard, cannot get traction. how do you break through to get your voice heard? mr. chafee: it's a long process, history shows. in 2004, john kerry was not going anywhere until the very end. people were just not putting him in the picture, and then people started to focus in december and january. if you have a good record, what you've done in public service and your character of honesty and courage, vision for the future, i think that will eventually sift through to the voters in iowa and new hampshire, and you get momentum in those states. josh: what do you make of the possibility of joe biden entering the race? mr. chafee: i think he is going to get in. dynamics are changing, as we know now, with the front runner. but we welcome everyone. i hear from new hampshire voters time and time again -- they showed a clip of one of the parades, and people were saying, "i'm glad you are running.

we want choices." so just another choice. josh: how did you -- evolve is not the right word. i would take some heat from that. how did you morph from republican and independent, now running as a democrat. mr. chafee: i've been pro-choice my whole career, antiwar, for the environment, for social programs to help build the middle class, and that has not changed, but my party changed. there was less and less room in the republican party for moderate, liberal republicans such as me. in 2006 for my reelection, republicans did not think they wanted a liberal, moderate republican, and i won the primary. the issues were changing. not enough room in the party for us. the priorities changed in the republican party. i did not change.

josh: you brought up the issues of climate change, the economy, foreign policy. from your standpoint, what do you think is the most important issue and challenge that the next president will face? mr. chafee: i think these endless wars overseas. we made the huge mistake of taking down saddam hussein and getting into iraq. i was one of 23 senators that voted against it. my feeling was we had just finished with vietnam, all those veteran issues, and get into another quagmire was the last thing i wanted to get into without really strong evidence, which was not there. now we have to fix it. the biggest challenge is spreading -- al qaeda, the taliban, isis, boko haram. we just have to end this for future generations. josh: can you get into the specifics of how your administration would end this and deal with it. mr. chafee: the refugees fleeing these war-torn countries, potentially destabilizing for

europe -- that's when you ask about the big priorities. of course the economy and building the middle class and health care and education -- those will always be priorities, but right now, ending these conflicts overseas i think is what we need to focus on and make a priority. josh: one more thing before we take a break and get to the audience, and that is what we are seeing with the surge of bernie sanders, and on the other side, donald trump. pundits say we've never seen anything like this politically. what do you make of it? mr. chafee: it's early. before the first votes are taken, people will start to focus, and this is a big decision. everyone knows it. josh: do you think there is an appetite for something different? something that hasn't been tried before? mr. chafee: the economy is coming back, and traditionally,

when the economy has growth to it, people are less angry. i was elected governor in 2010, and people were angry. homes were being foreclosed on. they could not find work, getting laid off -- those were tough times. i think now it will be a little different. the economy chugging away, just a little bit volatile, but certainly better than in 2010. we will see what happens with some of these candidates that are playing off of fear and anger. josh: as you point out, it is the home stretch, but there is still time. mr. chafee: it counts in january. that's what people really make up their mind in iowa and new hampshire. let's get -- josh: let's take a quick break and get to our studio audience. ♪ >> now, "conversation with the candidate" continues. josh: welcome back. tonight's guest, former rhode island governor lincoln chafee. time to bring in questions from the audience.

as always, i'll jump in if a all -- if a follow-up is required. >> in new hampshire, someone who earns minimum wage gets barely enough to pay rent, let alone life necessities. if you are elected president, what policies would you enact to ensure the strength of working families, and what an increase -- and what an increase -- and would an increase in the minimum wage be one of those? mr. chafee: i voted to raise the minimum wage every time he came before me. it was a big issue when i first got to the senate. as governor, we raised the minimum wage three times, so i have a good record of addressing that issue. also in my career, i have cared about an official social programs that help will the -- that help build the middle class, particularly on education -- pell grants, headstart. these are good social programs, federal programs in particular that help build the middle class, and i have a record of supporting them. not only minimum wage, but all these other beneficial social

programs. i'm a big supporter of the affordable care act. we had one of the best rollouts in rhode island of any state, and that was not easy. making sure we get universal health coverage to as many people as possible. rhode island is one of the best because we work at it. i am an advocate of social programs that help build the middle class, and that's a big issue between republicans and democrats -- i am an advocate of social programs that help build the middle class. republicans say government cannot be a force for good in people's lives, but i disagree. americans are made great by our strong middle class, and these government programs help our country stay great, particularly in education, infrastructure, health care. that's a role for government. josh: what's a reasonable minimum wage? mr. chafee: it depends on the community. the cost of living in some communities is going to be higher, so i would advocate for

a good ceiling of the federal minimum wage, $10.10, adjusted for inflation, and let communities reflect what their cost of living is. it will be different across the country. i'm not an advocate of a federal-fits-all minimum wage. josh: next question comes from dan bergeron. dan: this past april was the two-year anniversary of the defeat of the manchin-toomey gun proposal, bipartisan, called for criminal mental background checks strictly for gun shows and online sales. at the time, several independent polls reported that nine out of 10 granite staters supported the commonsense legislation. my question for you is what would your administration do differently to pass this type of

commonsense gun legislation? mr. chafee: the fact that it did not pass, the fact that they could not get this past shows the difficulty second amendment advocates and particularly the nra pose as a political force. again, looking at my record, i have a history of voting for commonsense gun measures, but going forward, even after colorado, some common sense gun safety laws were passed after the incidents in columbine and aurora, there were recall efforts. the political reality is, in my view, we have to get the nra on board. sit down with the nra and say we have to work together.

if we are fighting each other on these commonsense initiatives, we are not going to get anywhere. bring them to the table, he where we can find common ground and build on that -- see where we can find common ground and build on that. that is how i would approach it. it set of making the nra our adversary, let's try to work with them -- instead of making the nra our adversary. josh: what would you say to the national rifle association when you talk about expanding background checks or whatever moves you think are appropriate? mr. chafee: the gun show loophole, just find some common ground. where can we start and agree on the premise that we are not going to take their guns away? let's build on where we have common ground, commonsense laws. the gun show loophole or assault

weapon ban, and see if we can build on that. josh: let's go to social media. do you do facebook or twitter? mr. chafee: i'm trying. i'm learning. i'm a little stone age, but i'll be honest -- i'm working on it. josh: the next one comes from facebook. maureen gates is asking what is your plan to bring isis to a halt if elected president? mr. chafee: unfortunately, isis was born out of our breaking up of iraq. a lot of the former saddam sun nis have formed their own adversarial group. again, the mistake we made -- i was one of the 23 that warsaw thef the 23 that foresaw trouble of going in there and voted against the war in iraq, and now, how to fix it -- my view is just what president obama is doing with the iran nuclear deal. we crafted that deal with china, with russia, with great britain,

with the french, with the germans. if we are going to deal with all the other challenges in the middle east, it has to be with that same dynamic, working with the chinese, the russians, the europeans, the people in the neighborhood, and it will not be easy, but that's how i would approach it. josh: does isis have a voice and negotiation? mr. chafee: ultimately, you have to find some area where we can start putting down the guns, stopping the bombs from flying, stopping the beheadings, and however we can do that is how i would pursue it. josh: next question back to our audience. take it away, caitlin. caitlin: literacy programs get a lot of attention when we talk about early childhood education, but as america all behind some of its global competitors in math and science, i think it is equally important we invest in stem programs in early education.

can you talk about your vision for childhood education in the 21st century? mr. chafee: again, my record is one of consistent advocacy for headstart and early childhood education programs. i am a believer through my whole career at the local, state, and federal level of government's role in early childhood education, and the headstart program, some have criticized, but we can always make it better, but the wealthy are going to go to that preschool and get their skills, so headstart is a perfect way to balance between those that are less fortunate and the wealthy who are going to do it anyway. i would pour the resources, as i have, into these education programs. i am a firm believer that our public education system is why we are the greatest country in the world. let's keep expanding what do at

the pre-level and the secondary education level. josh: you have a couple of college-age daughters. one going to brown, the other to dartmouth. college affordability is a big issues with a lot of families, as is the debt being built by students themselves. the president saying he would like to have free community college. how would you approach the ffordability issue? mr. chafee: again, i am very proud of my record. not many people have the record i have, having been a mayor, governor,'s editor. it is important that i can say this. as governor, i put resources in touch times in my state into our higher education, our public institutions of higher education in rhode island. we had two years of no tuition increase because i put the resources in, and that is the

state responsibility. governors should be doing that. again, that is what made america great, the chance to go to college and afford and not come out with huge debt. that is up to the governors. i'm not just talking the talk. i walk the walk. private -- the pell grants. we just have not kept up with our commitment at the federal level. i would. it makes so much sense. to have a strong, well-educated country. josh: let's go to our next question from the audience. >> i am concerned about money and politics. what is your opinion of the citizens united decision of the supreme court? mr. chafee: i voted for the bill to have campaign-finance reform, and the supreme court's have struck down -- the supreme court has struck down some of it based on first amendment rights.

finally, citizens united, and i don't think i would go for a constitutional amendment, but i certainly would have justice -- my appointments to the supreme court would take a view that there are limits on speech as far as campaign-finance goes. i have always been a big civil libertarian, but in this area, i think the money that is coming into these campaigns, as you said, just is so enormous that it's hard for candidates -- i'm testing that. i'm testing running for president without all the huge, huge money, the hundreds of millions of dollars. let's see how it works out. josh: fundraising is an issue. realities of politics, especially in this race, you are

up against a lot of well-financed candidates, particularly one. how do you balance it? mr. chafee: i have run for office 12 times, starting at the local level, all of them competitive. i know you need the resources. in this case, money is so enormous, i'm just not going to be able to raise that kind of money, so i'm just spending what i have. i drive to iowa. i was in iowa last week. i drove out, drove back. i'm not going to get in debt. i am going to test. i am someone who has a record of being a governor, mayor, someone with vision of peace in the world to bring those resources back for prosperity. i'm testing that someone like that has a chance. josh: another facebook question, kind of an interesting one. could you put the following words in order of importance --

life, liberty, happiness. i know it's a little different, but welcome to new hampshire. mr. chafee: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness -- i don't think you can prioritize those. are they done in alphabetical order? josh: no, but inspiration as part of this thing. what do you tell people to get them excited about the possibility of a chafee presidency? mr. chafee: it is an important decision we are going to make, the great country, united states of america and where we are going in the future. it's a huge decision. especially being a democrat, on the partisan side. the republicans are so bellicose and belligerent and want these wars to go on forever. the programs they support that hurt the middle last and the denial of climate change and the appointments to the supreme court, as a partisan democrat, this is a very important election. you want someone that has a

record, someone that has character, as i said, the courage to take that oath, has always been honest, has high ethical standards, and a vision of where you are going and articulate that vision. in my case, it is ending these conflicts. bring those resources home. also peace and those other countries so they can focus on their education, their health care, their economy. that is very important. josh: thank you for that answer. let's go to laura flanagan for the next question, which is important to the economy as a whole. laura: housing starts play a big role in improving the employment rate. do you have any plans that would significantly improve the ability for builders and the like to improve the housing starts situation?

mr. chafee: housing reflects the economy. we have certainly seen whenever the economy goes bad, housing is one of the first casualties. so the main thing is keeping the economy chugging along. when i was in the senate, the economy was good. we were just getting to surpluses. after all those years of federal deficits, we finally had surpluses, and president bush and vice president cheney came in with a $1.6 trillion tax cut. i voted against it. then the economy cratered and housing cratered, and all those good people working in the housing industry, and that's how i got my start, and construction doing basements and driveways. i was a laborer with a

grading the basements and getting driveways ready for the concrete. you have to keep the economy chugging along, and housing is going to reflect that. also, environmental laws. the housing industry is always concerned about adhering to zoning and environment. i've worked for the homebuilders over my career. josh: thanks for the question. we only have about 90 seconds left in the tv portion. why are you the guy to keep the economy chugging? and end these wars we are dealing with overseas? mr. chafee: well, i've done it. i have been a mayor, and that means i plowed snow and picked up the garbage and had good schools as a mayor, and i have kept property taxes down, and i was reelected three times, and i would not have an reelected if i was not providing those services and keeping taxes down. then i became a senator, and president bush and vice

president cheney came in, and i had the courage to vote against the tax cuts, vote against the war in iraq, do the right thing on climate change, stop john bolton to be confirmed to go to the united nations -- these are tough votes that took courage. i think that character is what people want in the next president. what's most important is the vision. where are we going as a country? to end these wars, i'm a peacemaker -- i always have and in all my elected positions. now i serve on the senate foreign relations committee. i even chaired the middle east subcommittee. i have been to many countries in the middle east. i chaired the western hemisphere subcommittee. josh: check the record? mr. chafee: yes, i'm a peacemaker. i don't want to spend these resources on bombs and bullets and conflict. education, health care, our economy. a better way to spend our tax dollars.

josh: unfortunately, that's all the time we have for tv tonight, but while we are signing off this conversation will continue as always on our mobile app. you will find another 30 minutes of questions coming from our studio audience commercial-free. until then, thanks for watching. have a great night. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> former cia director testifies about u.s. policy in the middle east and the challenges of combating isis. we have live coverage starting at 9:30 this morning on c-span3. a senate panel looks at the consolidation of the health insurance industry. we will hear from the ceo of the aetna insurance company.

that is live at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> up next, a conversation on pope francis's u.s. visit. memorize haitian joined us on the washington -- mary rice hassan joined us on the washington journal. hasson joins us to preview the pope's visit and talk about the catholic church. she is a fellow at the catholic women's forum at the ethics and public policy center. what is the forum? guest: a new initiative designed to be a resource to the church but a voice to the culture. raising the voice of catholic women who are faithful to the church. the pope has called for more widespread female presence in the catholic church.

what does that mean in practice? ,uest: up until the past decade the conversation about women in the church has focused mostly on should women be priests. the church is closed the door to that. it has sucked up all the air in the room with that conversation. what pope francis is doing is saying, there is something more here. we need women's perspective in every thing we do. he is bringing women into different councils, different consultancy positions. he wants to hear what women have to say. host: how are women being included in decisions on things like contraception, abortion, marriage? does the pope have advisers in the vatican, traditionally a male-dominated space? guest: he has women advisers. hope francis -- pope francis is not going to be changing the

teachings of the church. it is more in terms of, how are we going to help people live the teachings more faithfully. how are we going to reach the poor and those who are marginalized in society? that is where he wants women and men to weigh in and hear the ideas and contribute on that level but not in terms of changing the church's teachings. host: what are those ideas you think we will be hearing when the pope comes to the united states? guest: one of the ideas, this is the pope of connection. he connects ideas. the idea for this pope is the human being is more important than anything -- more important than a thing. that is what he is doing when he reaches out to those on the margins. he is saying as a world we tend to throw away not just things but we throw people away.

he is going to be challenging people in the u.s. host: the front page of the "boston globe." cuba.pe has been in what sort of preview can we get from this cuba visit? how the pope is going to talk to some of the political figures he is encountering on this visit both to cuba and the united states? guest: this pope is very direct and spontaneous. it is difficult to predict what he's going to say but on the other hand, looking at the cuban experience, he raised two issues. religious liberty. he said there has to be room for the church. you have to make room in terms of space, freedom, giving the church the means to do what it is about, to reach hearts. he's going to raise the issue of religious freedom.

he also raised the issue of abortion. he is not mincing around. he is willing to call leaders if he thinks they are not giving priority to human beings. host: we are talking to mary rice hasson. she is a fellow at the catholic women's forum. if you have questions about the pope's visit, we are talking about cultural issues he will be touching on in his trip to the united states. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. you said the pope is not changing church teachings. what has changed in the church on the issue of homosexuality ever since that now famous quote he said about gays and lesbians? who am i to judge, was his quote. guest: that quote has been used and what that quote was the

statement, he was asked question about a particular priest who apparently was dealing with his own same-sex attractions. he was saying, this person was living a life pleasing to god. he was talking to us catholics about our attitudes. are we avoiding judgment? he is not changing the church's teachings. he's saying the church is full of sinners. when he was asked, he said, i am a sinner. , to realize weus are equal in the sight of god. he is saying come in and let's talk about it. it's help you grow and find that happiness you are seeking. the church has a view on how you do that. host: do you think american catholics are on board with the pope when it comes to corporate issues we are talking about? a poll from the pew research year, noted earlier this

american catholics said it was not sinful. 39% said it was not sinful to engage in homosexual behavior. 23% think it is not sinful to have an abortion. guest: some of those questions, there is no nuance. homosexuality, it is not a sin but the church talks about sex, it belongs in the context of marriage between a man and woman. the question is, being gay, that is not what we are talking about . the church is talking about behavior. there is divergence in terms of what the average catholic believes in what the church teaches. i think pope francis is about, let's talk about it. if there is that divergence, part of it because we have alienated people and we have not made our case.

we have not try to explain what we mean we're talking about sexuality. host: is it talk about it to change your view or talk about it so we can meet in the middle? guest: it is not a compromise in this sense. the church believes it is the guardian of the truth received from jesus. what jesus says in the bible, what is taught through traditions, is not going to change. bishops will say that is not our job. let's talk about how you live that, how you understand that. you have to know what people's objections are if you will be able to overcome them and help them see. the church needs to do a better job of that. host: will is up first calling in from albany, oregon. you are on with mary rice hasson. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i'm sure pope francis is a nice guy. he seemed that the personable fellow.

his opinions on climate change are completely wrong. not -- hering, he is has been -- isn't there somebody at the vatican who understands this? isn't there somebody who can help him get the science right? apparently god is not telling him what the sciences. -- what the science is. with all the problems of climate change, the overpopulation of human beings on this planet. that is the big problem and when the pope stands against antraception, not even taking neutral or advocacy position, that is the most immoral position on earth. he is able to make that change

to start controlling human population and sexuality is where it starts. conception begins with two living things. host: let's let mary rice hasson respond. guest: in everything the pope has said, if you read his encyclical on the environment, he is clear we do not solve problems by getting rid of people. we do not eliminate poverty by getting rid of poor people. he takes on the idea that we are going to solve our problems with climate change with poverty, by getting rid of people, that is not the problem and that is not the solution. he is adamant about that. when he talks about the science he is saying -- he does say some of these things could change. he's working on what he believes is the operative consensus. the heart of his message is, we have a god, a creator, who built a natural order into things, the

way the world works, and we need to respect that. that has to do with how we treat the earth and how we treat other people. if there is anything about this pope, he is the pope of connection. he will connect different ideas. to say it does not work you are concerned about nature and the earth and to not be concerned about the destruction of an unborn child. to throw away human life. he is trying to challenge all of us on all sides and bring us to look at the centrality of the human person. host: how far of a job do you think he has making those connections to a very divided congress on some of the issues you talked about? guest: i think that will be his challenge. at least here in the u.s., we tend to look at things through our lens of conservatives, liberal, republican, democrat. this pope breaks those molds.

he is going to speak the truth and the primary truth is we are human beings. god has in order to things and we need to respect that and that means respecting human life. watching out for those in bringing in those from the margins who really suffer when we do not respect human life. host: brenda is up next, line for republicans. caller: i would like to say that if the catholics want the pope to appear before congress as a born-again christian, i would like to see franklin graham appear before congress. the pope is too liberal for me. my respect goes to franklin graham and billy graham and men like that. host: where is the pope too liberal for you? let's talk about some of these issues. caller: climate change. they used to call the global

warming. that does not agree with their ideology so they call it what they call it now. what happened to they are not supposed to mix church with state? guest: the pope is not legislating. all the pope is doing, he is like the global moral conscience . he is calling us to think through the consequences of our actions. when he is talking about climate change, it is not because he is concerned about -- he's concerned about the human person. it is true that in a lot of those countries poor people suffered because of the there isrned because of the people. i think that is something that speaks to everyone across the aisle and that is what i would hope from our representatives that they listen in that vein

and hear the pope's message. host: chicago, illinois. on for democrats. -- on the line for democrats. caller: i believe a lot of what the pope has to say. i was watching c-span and saw some of the visit in cuba. herenk the pope coming should be mostly -- unfortunately with this world, there is a lot of hatred and racism. i think that should be brought out and that should be discussed. in thearing candidates field talking about muslims and of hatred for the president the united states. i'm thinking if someone to come to this united states of america and talk to the people about this hatred and it should not be tolerated, i think that should be the biggest focus. you know, that's one of the biggest problems -- all this hatred and injustice.

i know people have the right to think what they want to thank and feel what they want to feel, but hatred and racism is what is destroying this world. as far as climate change goes, climate change is real and i believe we are destroying this world. we need people to help fix this world. that is the fundamental issue. if the pope can just discuss these issues that are tearing us down, that is what we need to feel. muslim, hope if you are if you're gay, if you're italian, if your mexican. we are tired of these politicians hating people of different races. guest: i think the pope would agree with what you are saying. i think part of that is because this is a pope of love, of mercy. he is going to be speaking that message. he is not in the business of condemning in the sense that i think he is not going to be singling people out or singling out particular parties or

people. but he is going to challenge us. he is going to challenge every politician and every person who is listening. what i really encourage people to do is not look at the headlines and terms of what the media says the pope is saying, but rather to say, what did the pope actually say? there is a message therefore each of us and i think that is really important that we look and listen and really examine our hearts. where hatred and intolerance begins. it begins inside each of us. c-span will be covering all the pope's public statements including that address to the joint meeting of congress. the pope will be speaking in english and that joint address will alsos and he have mass at the basilica of the national shrine on wednesday at four clock p.m. with the joint address on thursday at 10:00 a.m.. check your c-span webpage as well for a further schedule of the pope's biggest events in

washington. he will continue to show you the various preparations around washington, d.c. for the pope's visit -- some of these security preparations and some of the logistics already underway on capitol hill and the national mall and around washington, d.c. bringing up muslims and some of the statements by candidates and radical islam and about by muslim being president. what is the pope's message to muslims? guest: it is one of love, of mercy, of acceptance. we are brothers. we are sisters. we are creatures of a common god and creative. the pope is about reaching out to everyone and he is going to be speaking at an interfaith gathering in new york. that is why he is addressing the u.n.. he is speaking to everyone. encyclical,onmental

it was addressed to the world. he is not about dividing. he is about challenging everyone of us, saying we have equal dignity. we have to reach across and solve these things and make common confections -- connections with human dignity. we have to take that to heart whether in one particular faith tradition or another. the challenge is can we hear what he is saying to each one of us. host: samantha is on the line. the 1970's, in ran across a wonderful lady who happened to be catholic and was part of a movement called the charismatic catholics. they had bible study and i went to several of the bible studies. we just really got into the gospel. it was just an environment of love and hope. is that still going on? guest: i am sure -- is what

still going on? host: what is the name of the group? caller: there was a group of women who had bible study's to help us understand the gospel. guest: sure, there are a lot of interfaith efforts going on, particularly in what are called movements within the church, like catholic charismatic renewal. there are a lot of things that bring us together and that is one of the messages of the pope. and that is a good thing. we are all trying to work together. that is the pope's message. let us come together and solve some of these problems in the world. i would like to just desk even as we are talking about bringing people together, i think it is important to look honestly at president obama's decision to greet the pope with symbols of division. the people that he chose to be part of his welcoming committee. i think that is problematic. host: explain that. hast: apparently he still these invitations outstanding, but he has made it known that

the welcoming committee at the white house is going to include ktransgendered individual, a piscopo priest, a nun who rejects the churches teaching on and theia and abortion, vatican's objection to this was not that the pope was going to have a problem deal with those people. he is going to treat them with one and with love. that's not it. thisis a manipulation of event and trying to turn it into a photo up. -- a photo op. this is kind of the think that pope francis talks about and does not like. he talks repeatedly about how service has to take priority over ideology. what we are seeing from the white house is that primacy of ideology. we are going to shove it in your face the things that we do not like about catholicism. they are choosing -- the white house is choosing which people within the catholic faith they are going to elevate as real catholics and the dissenters. that is rather disrespectful and

at the very least bad manners. i think there is something more than that. host: has the pope encountered these kinds of situations before and other state visits? guest: he has not been here before. host: in other countries? guest: not in this way. it plays into one of the pope's major themes where he calls it ideological colonization. he really does not like it when the west tries to impose its moral values upon cultures and religions. this is a prime example of president obama doing exactly that, where he is saying we think one particular thing and we are just going to not be respectful of you and where you're coming from. he could've had immigrants there. he could've had people working on climate change. all the things that he has got on the ground, but instead he elevates people who are symbols of division. that is offensive. host: charles is in richmond, virginia on the line for republicans. caller: how are you doing and

good morning to you. pope,ally happy for this which i'm not that religious anyway. christian.stant i think about catholicism and how it has really developed in the 20th century. when you think about before fathers who came here, they were leaving religious oppression in europe and they came here. lady named's with a roosevelt who do not want catholics or jews in the white house, but i still have a gripe with them. i have a real gripe with them --ause i would like to know the catholic bishops had this thing against women actually teaching christianity.

before you say anything, jesus christ is what we base our religion on. he had women with him. he had an entourage and he had two basic women in his life. he had married magdalene and he had his mother. -- mary magdalene and he had his mother. those are the women when he was preaching his cross the pope -- his gospel. when he was crucified, the men were scared and they ran back. these two women stayed and spoke. why is it that we have to deal with this thing where women should not have a place? please answer my question. goodbye. host: mary rice hasson is the director of the catholic women's forum at the ethics and public policy center. go ahead. guest: it is not about excluding women.

it is very difficult what the catholic church is practice is. the lord jesus chose the apostles. jesus was a revolutionary in one sense and that he was not bound by convention. he certainly could have chosen women to be his apostles and he did not. those apostles within the catholic tradition are what we see as the forbearers of the priesthood. so the church has kept that as a male institution. however, just as the lord brought in women, and they were his followers, women have done a tremendous job within the church. where would the church be without the women and sisters who have run hospitals, who had run schools? what pope francis is doing is that that is wonderful. we want to bring women in other areas, those consultative areas, and the places where we need women's judgment and experience to figure out how to address these practical problems. it really is not the case that the catholic church is not

following in jesus's footsteps. it is following closely in what jesus did. host: if you want to check out mary rice hasson's work it is epp c.org. give us a call for the next 20 minutes or so. margaret called in from florida independents.r caller: i'm so glad i got to get through. you are a wonderful representative and i'm happy to hear from you. i just want to go back to the pew research poll. me with thetches catholic poles. i'm a 53-year-old roman catholic. i was less and raced to the top well. -- blessed and raised to be taught well. the problem with the poll in the catholic church is that catholics are not learning what our religion actually is. i know. i have a lot of contemporaries who do not understand what the magisterium is.

who do not understand what doctrine is and the difference. i know catholics who literally think that when the pope says something that it represents dogma. there is a lot of education missing, which my parents and your parents got. my mother knew backwards and forwards our religion. the other thing i would like to address because you hit it on the head because as soon as i heard the list that president obama gathered, i think he's going to be sorely surprised at how our holy father handles this. not understanding anything about our religion or the catholic church, he somehow thinks he is going to trip up our pope. when he does not understand our religion accepts understand -- understanding left. we do not change on a limb. we are a church handed down from jesus christ. we do not make decisions based on two polls in the prevailing

culture. thank god for the church, of course. there are so many people now -- this pope is so great and he wants to help people. i think it is amazing how no one understands what the previous popes represented. i just want to hear your comments and i appreciate your good work. thank you. guest: i think you bring up important things. 1 -- people tend to think any word or phrase that the pope says as a pronouncement on catholic teaching. that is not how it works. the pope is free to have an opinion on the washington nationals or his favorite soccer team or even about matters of public policy and things like that. these are not going to be new pronouncements of new teaching. the church's teaching comes to us from jesus. it is the truth. truth does not change. what this pope is doing is opening people's ears to help cure things differently.

you are right that so many people over the past 20-30 years really did not get a sense of what exactly did church teaches. -- the church teaches. if they heard the right line of what is right or wrong, they did not understand why, so many people rejected it out of hand. that is what you are seeing in the pew polls. you see this lack of understanding about why the church teaches what it teaches. it pope francis can get people back and listen and engage in a dialogue, i think we will be ahead of the game here. that is what he is about. he's about changing people's lives. host: you are saying that teaching isn't changing. here is a lead from a recent "usa today" story about that poll we have been talking about. pope's evolving issues have surprised observers since his rise to the vatican 2.5 years ago. two of the things that they go through in that story is issuing a call this summer for the church to embrace divorce and

remarried catholics and just recently weighing in on the issue of abortion and whether priest can forgive that as a sin. guest: this article reflects a bit of a misunderstanding. in both situations, the pope has not changed teaching. he is highlighting something most people do not know. worst of all, if you are divorced and remarried, you are not excommunicated. you cannot receive communion because that is a spiritual thing to do in order to be worthy to receive communion. there are all sorts of catholics who cannot receive communion on a given day because we are not spiritually prepared. so he is saying something about that. sure saying let's make people know that. i think most catholics know other catholics weapon divorced who somehow feel like they are no longer welcome and that is just wrong and not what the church has taught. that is not a change. what it is is the pope breaking

through all the noise and the preconceptions that people have gotten, perhaps through media mischaracterization or simply a lack of understanding. he is sitting -- saying, let's wait a minute and get this right. come back. we are all sinners. that is true with divorce. the issue with abortion is that the pope is not saying abortion is good. in fact, he has been reiterated that this is a harmful injustice to the unborn child and it wins too.aounds a woman, it is that the bishops allow the priest to give absolution to bring the woman back into the church. it is a matter of publicizing again the grace that is available that people do not realize is there for them that they are not out of the church. the pope is saying come on in.

there is so much good for you. host: it should be noted that pope francis reiterated from a catholic prohibition against pregnancy termination. another interesting tweet is that i am proud that the pope is going to be addressed congress. manipulating the visit of the pope is disrespectful of the president. john in pennsylvania has a question for you. go ahead. caller: hello. i have a question for you. first off, i will let you define what you call sin. second, i would like you to your stance on homosexuality when leviticus say one 26-28.n romans i would like you to please thatin how on your list you said homosexuality was not a sin when the bible clearly defines ita