new hampshire. live coverage at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. >> c-span takes you on the road to the white house. townhall meetings, speeches, rallies, and meet and greets. comments -- taking your comments on twitter and facebook. [applause] >> jeb bush held a town hall meeting saturday and criticized donald trump for his lack of foreign policy knowledge and said trump would be a chaotic resident. the former governor also discuss mental health and gun violence prevention, veterans, immigration, border security, and helping people with drug addictions. new hampshire will hold the nation'first primary in february. >> i am right here and i am not leaving.

>> welcome to meeting governor jeb bush. it is a fantastic time for everyone. monitoring my every move. thank you, governor, for coming. it is marvelous. would you all stand and say hello to governor bush? and would you remain standing for the pledge? shall we begin? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america. and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. thank you very much. mr. bush: thank you for coming out tonight. -- >> thank you for coming out tonight. you had seven years of ongoing training going on, the one thing we do not want to have

happen is seven years of ongoing training. we want someone who has delivered eight years of tax cuts in florida and got elected as a republican with eight years of tax cuts, that is governor jeb bush and he will be the next president of the united states. welcome. [applause] .r. bush: thank you thank you so much. four:you for coming out, 30 on a saturday afternoon. nothing optimal time for a townhall meeting but today was going to be the day i would break the record for most town halls in a single day. five. unfortunately, we ran into a tragic event. corporal andrew, who lived in dover was killed in a training exercise, training to be an army ranger in georgia. his funeral took place this we wereat the same time going to do our event.

this was to be our fourth townhall meeting. it is our third peer but i am honored to be here. i think it will be appropriate to ask for a moment of silence to pray for the families who lost their loved ones and were preparing to serve us with incredible honor and distinction. yesterday to pay my respects to the family of andrew, i saw 20 ,rmy rangers all dressed up big, strong, strapping young men preparing and training to protect us. our hat should go off to them and we should focus on how we provide the necessary support for these young men and women to keep us safe. they want to do that and they want to know a commander in chief has their back and they want to know when they go into

battle, they have the best toipment possible to be able do their job effectively. they want to know the next president of the united dates will rebuild the military in terms of spending and will make in 21stssary investment century. this president has put so many therictions on top of containment that the policy is a policy we lose each and every day. isis is not contained when they can take acts of terror in san bernardino or take out a plane. they are not being contained and even if they were, the simple fact is that is not the appropriate policy. every day they exist is a victory for islamic terrorism and a feat -- a defeat for people like us. every day they can exist, they theuit people all around

world, including the nine states, to take avenge of our freedom, which they believe is our weakness. strategy to destroy isis and i laid out a plan in august at the reagan library to do just that. example, arming the kurds. troops are in a rack right now, embedding some of those troops inside the iraqi military, re-engaging with sunni tribal created a fragile but secure iraq on a day barack obama was elected president, creating a series of safe stones -- save zones in syria so the 4 million refugees who exist in these camps and now going to arope, we will not create breeding ground for islamic terrorism for the next generations. we allow a safe harbor for them and allow us to build a sunni led force of moderate muslims who would do the job of leading

the country and opposed isis and post assad world. stopped aerial bombing people to the tune of 300,000 people. is ansecurity that exists direct threat to national security. getting the lawyers off the back of the war fighters, taking away the funding stream for isis, it is a complex challenge but a detailed plan is necessary and somebody who has the fortitude and the will to carry it out. isis isrump's idea said not our fight. really? islamic terrorism is not a threat to the islamic's -- to the united states? tell that to the people in san bernardino. donald trump says he gets his military advice from the shows. really? the commander in chief, someone aspiring to be president of the united states, turns on the television sunday morning and

thinks that is enough to lead this extraordinary country? donald trump is excited vladimir thinks he is a good man. he rewards vladimir putin with praise as well. really? a man who believes the united states is in decline and takes every step forward while we step back is a hero of donald trump's? really? he is not a serious person. is -- he would be a chaotic states?t of the united i would be a commander in chief and not an agitator in chief. i would leave the country to a more secure place where we would get in the business of creating prosperity again for our great country.

as it relates to the economy, there is much to be done. hillary clinton has given barack obama not just a passing grade, but and a. -- an a. when you have one in 10 people unemployed or giving up work altogether? is it when participation rates are lower than they were in the 1970's? povertyn more people in today than the day barack obama got elected and not when one in five children is on food stamps and more businesses are closing and that disposable income, the great identifier of prosperity, where we stand, median income is than the day barack obama was elected. $2300 in washington may not be a lot when you have lifetime protection. increaseslly get wage for showing up, more benefits

than the private sector. people may not be concerned in washington because they do not have those in their income, but across the board for this great country, it means maybe this child will not be able to go get quality daycare or maybe they will not be able to go to college or maybe they cannot buy a car or maybe cannot save for a rainy day or maybe you have a mom who has dementia and you are the caregiver and you cannot care or maybe you cannot take a vacation. perever it is, 2300 dollars year is a lot of money. the next president has to fix this mess and it starts with changing the culture and washington, d.c. i believe we need a balanced budget to force a conversation to where it needs to be. need term limits. in florida, we have term limits. i have some friends here, talented people who get a chance

to take leadership roles where the permanent political clash has to take a step back here and we need to make sure lobbyists and goshould not take it out the back door and start lobbying the people serving with the day before. six-year ban.e a total transparency to ensure people have confidence the government is a servant rather than master. i had a chance to take these ideas and work with the legislature and turn the place upside down. the net result was we had a better government. we do have term limits. we balance each and every year leaving reserves of $9 billion, more than 35% of general revenue. veto -- i did it

because government should not grow faster than people's's ability to pay for it and in florida, that rep -- that was the result. there is a big difference in the philosophy of the left and ours. i believe everybody has the chance to make a contribution in our society. a giftve that life is from god, that it is divinely inspired. i believe if we created a society where everybody's abilities can be reached to their full limits, their god-given abilities, then nothing will stop the united states. the left believes the opposite. they believe life is not fair. that because life is not there, i will take care of you with another spending program, another tax, another regulation. dividing our country up by halves and have-nots. for us to win, we have to have

an exact opposite view. last year, i met a floridian. she was -- she came to campaign a couple of months ago here in a town hall meeting. when she was young, she was held back two years in a row in third grade. i can imagine that she was quite angry. no one ever told her she was capable. she was going to be passed along basically to a dead-end. it happens a lot in america. thousands and thousands of kids do not get the power of knowledge and they are stuck and we wonder why the demand on government grows faster than our ability to pay for it. she found out, her godmother found out a corporate tax scholarship program. it is the largest program in the country. we created the first, second and third programs in the country. we eliminated tenure for teachers. we reward teachers for performance. they get more pay when they do a good job based on student learning.

the teachers union did not like this at all. they mortgaged their building when i ran for reelection to try to defeat me and to support my opponents. they lost and had to sell the building, which warms my heart to be honest, because taking on big political fight is what we aim to do. we cannot stand pat with the things that are broken. i know how to do this because i had a chance to do it. she was the beneficiary. her godmother found out about the program and she got to go to a christian school. i know what happened. i was not there, but i know what happened. in that first week, a teacher told her on around her and for the first time she was told she was capable. that she had god-given talents. that god loved her and so did the teacher.

together, they were going to make sure she could learn. she overcame the two years of being held back. she graduated with her age group. she was the first in her family to graduate from high school and college. this year, she will get a masters degree at the university of south florida. i believe that we will be successful politically and we will be successful as a nation if we are on the side of her. i don't know if she is a republican or democrat -- it is irrelevant. what is important is she has the same right as anybody else to live a life of purpose and meaning. that she will not have to get in line and be told somehow she is not capable of living a life of purpose and meaning, that she is a liability. that the government will manage her life. isn't it better to be on the side of people pursuing their own dreams as they see fit? making sure people have the capacity to achieve earned success? isn't that the better approach? we are going to win if we are on the side of her. if we focus on high sustained economic growth and keeping our country safe, we will win. did we divide ourselves up, allow the narcissist to say i

will take care of you. not interested in forging consensus, solving problems -- we will never win. hillary clinton will be elected and god for bid that from ever happening. i believe you are looking at the guy that can beat hillary clinton because i have a proven record. [applause] it is a record of applying conservative principles in a hopeful optimistic way with sheer dogged determination to implement them the right way, where everybody has a chance to win. it is not about those that have already made it. it is not whether you have an "r" or "d." that is my mission.

i hope you will support my candidacy here in new hampshire. you all elect presidents. you have a responsibility being first in the nation. my belief is you take it seriously, but you want to make sure we have the right person to win the election in the general election, but also the right person who has the right stuff to be president. i ask for your support and i appreciate you coming out for this town hall meeting. thank you. [applause] yes, ma'am? you have a microphone coming your way. >> i was really impressed to hear about your proposal for a six-year ban on lobbying. some of the people who rake in the most from lobbying are retired congressional staffers and people who work at the pentagon, both military and civilian, so i would like to know if you would extend the six-year ban to those people also. mr. bush: that is a good question. i have a look at the impact of

that. there should be total transparency. if you are meeting with a lobbyist, and you are a staffer on a committee of great importance or you are a big dog in the department of defense and you are being lobbied, there should be 24 hour notice. it should be put on the internet. there should be complete transparency. people can make up the mind whether it is appropriate or not. that is across the board -- a more transparent government is what we need. the president promised the most transparent government in american history and we have not gotten it. we have the exact opposite. the best way to deal with the transparency issue is to open it up. it could be that staffers -- that is a revolving door as well.

it makes sense to look at it. the other thing we have to do as relates to the defense department is make sure there are more than three contractors. we have created such a confusing, convoluted system that you have the big defense contractors. the cost is higher. they are aggregated. all the other parts of the operation, they subcontract out. they use the influence to get these contracts. all sorts of legal costs are associated with it. the fighters do not get the equipment necessary at the speed they should. one of the other elements is to embrace reform so we have more contractors and it is based on merit rather than influence. yes, sir? >> afghanistan and iraq during your brother administration and people have come back with ptsd.

i'm running for office -- state representative. mr. bush: how old are you? >> 18. mr. bush: go for it. [applause] >> i'm running on the promise to take care of our veterans. i'm wondering what you would do to take care of our veterans and fix the v.a.? mr. bush: first of all, that is fantastic. second of all, you have to work with the next president to give this is the federal government responsability. there is a veterans operation in every department. but to reform the v.a., you made a president committed to it. one, we need career souls servers reform -- civil service reform. it cannot be the economic entrance of the employees. it should be about the veterans. right now, it is about the economic interest. there was a hearing in congress and this guy had the gull to say i did not know you thought accountability related to firing. heck, i don't see it that way. there have been three people

fired with the most egregious scandals that exist which is -- $140 million of bonuses for reducing rates without giving care to veterans. men and women died. veterans died. yet, there were bonuses given and only three people fired. we need civil service reform so there is reward for a job well done, but there should not be lifetime employment and government. -- in government. it should not be a career that gives you 40% benefits and wages more than the private sector. there should be 21st century implement practices. veterans should have more services. if a veteran wants to see a doctor that is their private doctor, they should have the right to do it far easier than today. >> we will have the entire town hall meeting with jeb bush airing tonight at 12:40 a.m. eastern on c-span. the congress is frustrated because this entity is so insular and him accountable, you need a president that will accept responsibility.

we had problems all the time. i would read the paper. another child has been hurt or a state worker did not identify abuse. my instinct was not how can i make -- figure out a way to make sure no one blames me? how do i blame my predecessor. set of accepting responsibility, pretty first-rate hospital. it is now at $1.8 billion. the veterans administration cannot order itself out of a wet paper bag. accountability. everyone says the dog ate my homework. unaccountable,so you need a president that will

accept responsibility when these things happen. governor, we have problems all the time to die read the paper and say, oh my god. hurt.r child has been my impulse was not to say, how can i figure out a way to make sure no one blames me. how do i make sure the dog eat excuse,ork is the right how can i blame my predecessor, which has been a common refrain in washington, if you know what i mean. instead of rolling up your sleeves and accepting responsibility in solving the problem. that is my pledge. on day one, we begin the process to modernize the v.a. and make sure it is effective and empower people to make better choices and we will have a much better system to cooperate when you are a state legislator to make sure the care they receive is the best.

there should be no veteran homeless in this country. the long-term disability issues that exist for veterans should be a long-term commitment to solve the thing. posttraumatic stress, now i serious problem, it has to be dealt with. together, we can solve this. it does not have to be necessarily from top-down, but the responsibility is on this president and this president has let us down. >> i do not have a question but i want to make a statement. i will not get you into trouble. i have been a volunteer politically. i am 85. mr. bush: that is not possible. >> i live well.

my husband and i retired to new hampshire in 1986. [laughter] i want to tell you what a wonderful staff you have. it is the best staff i have ever worked with. mr. bush: thank you. [applause] well, how much do you get paid to say that? [laughter] yes? >> i have two questions. the first thing you have already talked about -- the balanced budget. i would like to know how long it would take to resolve the $18 trillion. do not answer yet. the second question is i would like to know how we can protect our borders better? i know a lot of things have to be done but those are the two that interest me. mr. bush: the way to balance the budget to get us towards a path of reducing the debt rather than accepting the level, it is growing the economy at a faster rate.

having entitlement reform. reform the social security system. cut back on discretionary spending. shift power back to the state. the one reversal of the trend is shrinking government. we need to rebuild the military. whatever it takes to be able to create a secure america has to be the highest priority. we can reform the defense department. there are more civilian employees than men and women in uniform which does not make sense to me. their process needs to be streamlined. there is a lot we can do to shrink the cost of doing business in the defense department, but we have allowed our defense capabilities to flatline. we need to be modernizing it constantly so the new threats that exist can be met. other than that, the rest of the government has to shrink.

ultimately, you get towards the balanced budget. the growing economy means instead of 100% of gdp, you get down to a level that is manageable. on immigration, i'm the one in a unique situation. i have the same view for the last four years. i know that is remarkable in politics because people are shuffling all the time. i wrote a book about it. it was not a bestseller. you can buy it for $1.99 on amazon. i encourage you to do it. chapter one is exactly what i think which is we need to secure the border and we need to deal with people that are here illegally in a way that does not givehem a path to citizenship. securing the border means building fencing where appropriate. not across the board. that is not responsible to say we will build a wall. mexico will not pay for it.

don't be shocked. that is just not going to happen. we do need more fencing places appropriate. the administration refuses to do it. we need to use technology in a more appropriate way. we have drone technology today -- we haven't fighting immigration so long, the drone technology is relatively new. apply that appropriately. gps technology has exploded. there are ways to monitor the border which creates more security. we need more border patrol agents and more forward leaning on the budget. we need an e-verify system which allows businesses to check to make sure people are here legally, which means you cannot forge a social security card. you have to have a system that is truly verifiable. with penalties for employers that hire illegal immigrants. we need to eliminate sanctuary cities.

that local governments can avoid fulfilling law. it can help security. the idea of running people up -- i can do this. 500,000 a month, that is the trump plan? -- the idea of just rounding people up, saying, trust me, i can do this. 500,000 a month, that is the trump plan? that is the number of people that interact with the criminal justice system today. it would overwhelm the courts. it would make it impossible to actually carry out the regular business of the courts that keep us safe. this is not a smart idea. it is not a serious idea. the better idea would be once you control the border is to say here, come out from the shadows. pay a fine. get a provisional work permit. work. no government assistance. learn english, do not commit crimes and work.

over an extended period of time, you earn legal status is wishes i mean you can get a path to citizenship. -- it does not mean you have a path to citizenship or cut in line. i don't know of another option that would not cost hundreds of billions of dollars and create instability. that is what i believe we have to do. it is a serious problem, as you will note, not just because of the rule of law. that is important. it is also an important issue because it is now the threat of islamic terrorism. you need to have a control order for that. -- a controlled border for that. it is also important because of the heroin epidemic. if you can provide very powerful, high-grade heroin at an extraordinary low price, you will continue to see people that are being overprescribed painkillers, resorting to not using pain opiates but using heroin. the tragedy that exist in this state and other places now -- it is an epidemic.

controlling the border has the purpose of stopping the flow of illicit drugs. yes? >> thank you, governor. i was stationed at a missile site in germany back in the 1970's -- mr. bush: how about triad? >> guys standing on the stage with you had no idea what it was. when consistently asked over and again, what would he do to modernize it had no answer. , could you give us an answer? mr. bush: it was breathtaking. it was breathtaking. my face, my jaw dropped down. i mean karma this is the -- the triad is air, land, and sea launch capabilities to create a deterrent effect which has been effective since , the world war ii era. it has brought stability to the world. trump's advisor or communications director this

morning, i believe, said, hey that is not the big , deal. it is making sure you have a president that will use nuclear weapons. no, no, no. 15-yard penalty loss of down. , that is not the objective. think about it. this is not a serious man with a serious proposal. we have allowed for the triad to languish. we have not invested in modernizing it. it is both dangerous not to do that, and we need to make sure we have this deterrent situation , which means our submarine capability, which is perhaps -- if i was answering the question, i would say that is the place we need the greatest emphasis because the ohio class submarines to me to be modernized and done now. we cannot wait any longer. across the board, all of the legs of our deterrent effect is important but to have a president to not understand the

sober, somber responsibilities of having access to the nuclear code, dang. i mean, well, you must have like spit up your diet coke. [laughter] this is the point. this is the point. look people in new hampshire , are going to have the chance to decide this election in many ways. the trump phenomena is one to be respected. he has appealed to people. for legitimate reasons, people are angry, but the people of new hampshire have to ask if they really want a guy -- he may think the nuclear triad is a try part -- is a tripod or something, a new kind of camera, i do not know. do you really want somebody that is entertaining but not a commander-in-chief to be president? yes, sir? >> this is a very good lead-in.

frequently in senior levels of government, we talk about the national strategy. certainly, the cold war is a great example of that. it lasted for 40 years through many changes of who was in the oval office, who was leading congress. and it is something the american people can relate to, not just in the military with the defense strategy, but with our athletes going up against the olympics, our fortune 500 companies, and our entrepreneurs, knowing this is our economic system against another economic system. my question is what do you see , over the last 20 years has been the grand national strategy and how might you steer? mr. bush: great question. i think we have had -- the world has transitioned and i don't think we have transitioned with it. one of the real challenges is we have a 20 -- mid 20th century world, government on top of a 21st century world.

you cannot, look, talk about military strategy. you cannot fight both wars. you cannot fight the conventional war of the mid-20th century, the cold war, and deal with these asymmetric wars. we have to transfer ourselves to what the new threats are. they are in cyber security. the new threats are in these nationstates that are aggressive. that is still part of the challenge karma but we have these emerging threats like isis that literally came out of nowhere in the void that was created when we left iraq. in a period of time that was warp speed from a historical point of view -- 30,000 battle tested terrorists garnering hundreds of millions of dollars now created a new threat that did not exist just three years ago. i think the grand strategy is -- how do we protect the homeland against these new threats while maintaining some level of support for recognizing america

cannot just do this alone -- you have to build a security arrangement that includes our partners and allies. we need to lead, but the grand strategy is one of american leadership, not in the absence of other people making commitments karm, as well. in my vision of how the world looks, i see the support for nato being an official part of it. right now, russia, donald trump's big friend, this new buddy, is challenging the notion of nato. and they are winning. you see countries inside the nato alliance that are trending towards putin, towards russia. my guess is if we do nothing, if continue down this path of leading from behind and pulling back, that the europeans will stop the sanctions on russia for the invasion of the ukraine. when ukraine received that treatment, how did you think that impacts the rest of the countries in eastern europe and central europe? the united states has the play

a role in these places for security for our own country. for the military and foreign policy point of view, i think we can create a new strategy that is kind of emerging a fusion of both the conventional and new threats. economically, if we are going to lead the world, we need to be in economic superpower which means , people have if you like the system works for them. the great challenge there is twofold. one, the rapid nature of change because of innovation and automation creating real challenges for us to create higher wage jobs and globalization accelerating all of this as we go along -- we have these trends we have not adjusted to. a serious strategy needs to recognize the world as it is, not as we want it to be. there are people on the left and right that say we will build a wall, a protectionist wall.

we will look inward. no, that does not work. looking inward means you will lose. you will lose wages, job lose -- lose job opportunities. we have to actually be competitive in a world where the pace is faster. a strategy as it relates to prosperity has to be radically changing how we train and educate. simplifying our tax code and taking power away from washington. moving from an outcome based regulatory system that focuses on every well intended rule having some benefit for society, but also some detriment to our economy. and having an honest discussion about whether every one of these rules is appropriate because they are not. we are stifling our ability to compete. if we cannot compete, we will lose our will, and then we cannot lead the world. when we pull back, it is ugly. that is a phenomenal question. yes, sir? >> hi. mr. bush: hey.

>> edward snowden -- good or bad for the country? mr. bush: bad. >> ok. and you were not running for president, who would you vote for? [laughter] mr. bush: that is a trick question. why is it bad? he violated the law, for starters. secondly, he broke the law. thirdly, he jeopardize national security interests for our country. fourthly, there are men and women in positions that work for agencies with three letters that now are in jeopardy. he has made it impossible -- not impossible -- extraordinarily hard for us to reestablish the relationships that are necessary for our intelligence communities to be able to do their jobs. the net effect of this is now we see the impacts of it. so now you have a situation where it might be nice to know looking

back who this couple in san bernardino were interacting with. i would like to know. i hope the president of the united states would like to know. that security breach that took place makes it harder, the itwden security breach makes harder to have a conversation with the german intelligence authority or the french. and now we see efforts to create encryption so the terrorist -- terrorists actually use the same technology to protect their messaging that others feel compelled to do, as well. now we see european country saying you cannot go back door through these platforms. we will prohibit it. we have created a different relationship where there is no trust anymore and that could be , the longest lasting legacy of snowden's efforts. he should come back and served -- serve time. he is not a hero. he will not be on the cover of "time" magazine.

another question? there are a lot of good people running. i have a lot of respect for many of them. i just think i'm the best. [applause] i'm training myself to say things like that, because i was brought up in a way that you don't toot your own horn. the minute i said that, there was a looming presence of barbara bush behind me. [laughter] she was about to whack me across the head. sorry, mom. but i do think my record as governor and my life experience years , 32in the private sector, eight years where we accomplished more -- the people in washington -- the debate, they started talking like jabber jabber. i passed an amendment and i was thinking about killing something but actually for it. it made no sense. they have lost their way. people look at this and hear this stuff, and they go, it does

not make any sense to me. we need people that actually know how to get things done. governors do that. they do it regularly. they have to make tough decisions. if i had my favorite candidate, it would be someone who was a a governor, a reform-minded conservative that served in the big state that handled big challenges and had ideas for the future. oh, that is me. [laughter] [applause] yes, ma'am. >> so many times during elections over the decades, we see candidates making promises that they want to fulfill, but then their hands get tied because congress does not make it easy for them. they throw in difficulties. i am just wondering, when you get into that position, how do you want to handle that and what will make it possible and how can you directly answer that without beating around the bush? mr. bush: great question.

the first step is assume the people that disagree with me do not have bad motives, because now it looks like every time somebody disagrees with someone in washington, the first impulse is to say they are bad. have badwrong, motives. that they are part of the president's classic example would be the iranian deal. he said people opposed his new -- nuanced approach to the agreement were in cahoots with the death to america crowd. with all due respect, that was a bad agreement. he should respect people that have a disagreement with him. and i think there is a tendency in washington to push down anybody that disagrees with you to make yourself look better. the net result is there is a gap of trust that does not make it possible to get things done. there are too many lessons in history in our great country where the opposite took place.

we have had a 240-year run as a republic. pretty good run. i would say the greatest run of any country ever created. out of that time we have had 10 , years of massive dysfunction. -- in the 19thou century, they had food fights stuff but it , worked. now they brag about an omnibus bill that nobody read, that is thousands of pages long dealing with funding. they did not shut down government. that is how low the bar is. so how do you start? you start by assuming that people in the other party do not have bad motives. you at least listen to them to determine if you can find common ground. tip o'neill did it with ronald reagan. they secured social security solvency for almost 40 years. my dad did it with democrats.

bill clinton did it with republicans. my brother did it with democrats for a lot of the legislation. we have to restore that. you cannot make the democracy work unless -- the bigger the challenge, the more important it is that both parties have a role. you cannot make democracy work by jamming it down the other 's throat. we have had dodd frank, the stimulus and obamacare. , not a single republican vote in any of those three cases. even to this day, they remain unpopular because the president did not take the time to forge consensus. that is my answer to you. i have one quick story. i had a friend of mine who was the united states senator who got invited to the white house to have dinner with the president. pretty cool. i've been there. it is a nice place. [laughter] good history, you know. the food is good. there is tradition.

it is the white house for crying , out loud. it is the center of this extraordinary country in some ways. he is going up the elevator with the usher and the aid and the aide says this is exciting. you are the first republican that the president has dined with during his time. i'm thinking, this is a year five. really? if you can have the white house for a and you had something you really wanted to get done and you could advise someone, invite them for a nice meal, maybe have a glass of wine, and put your on arm around them and say i need your help. i think that is a good place to forge consensus, but this president never felt compelled to do it. that is just wrong. that is a missed opportunity for him and the country. yes? >> i have been concerned about the state department and the fact that more and more of the

decisions here to be made out of -- appeared to be being made out of the oval office and in the crowd that they accumulate. i would love to see -- i kind of think about the state department like the v.a. you know, we needed a more professional state and we need -- like, how many times have they held press conferences to explain the foreign policy decisions they are making and where they are headed? you know, a lot of that is being taken to the president. he is the one speaking for the state department. would you be able to be encouraged to form a more professional, more active state department? mr. bush: great question. here is what i believe. the national security council has, i think, doubled in size in

the last generation. this president has consolidated more power inside the white house reform policy than any -- for foreign policy than any president prior. it has allowed foreign policy to be politicized. the benghazi issue is a good example. it was clear that this was a terrorist attack. hillary clinton sent an e-mail to her daughter and to the prime minister of egypt the day after the attack saying just that. forthey prolonged the lie as long as they could to make sure it did not damage the president's reelection chances. well, that is not how the presidency should work. you should appoint men and women of real talent in the department of defense and department of state, build a team with a national security council is not the place where decisions are made where the president calls , in and creates the political

solution to the mess or whatever. you use the national security council and the head of it as a mediator for disputes, and you will allow for a hearty discussion about what the policy should be. the president ultimately has to make the choice but i would dodift power back to the and the department of state and hold them to account. my biggest problem with the department of state is they operate sometimes without enough accountability. you give them accountability and you professionalize it, you will get a good result, but if you allow them to run wild, they are not necessarily carrying out the actions of the president. yesterday, john kerry in moscow, he said something breathtaking. he said the united states does not have an interest in regime change in syria. well that is news to everybody , in our country because that , has been the official policy of the united states.

all of the sudden, we are going to rewrite history and ignore the fact they have one policy? the president, the last time he spoke said the policy was regime ,change and now he says russia , and the united states as similar interest in providing security in syria and assad will have to stay. you have to have leadership in the white house. the president has to lead. it ought to be done in a way that once you establish what the vision is and what the strategy is you empower the state , department and defense department to carry out their world. i think you could cut the nsc in half and that would send a , pretty powerful signal. it is a great point. yes, sir? yeah. >> do you believe donald trump would lose in a complete

landslide to hillary? if so, how do you show those supporters that they are not supporting trump, they are supporting hillary? mr. bush: it is a great i point. respect the fact that people are supporting mr. trump because they are angry. i totally respect the fact they are angry for good reason. washington is broken. it starts with, people are angry because the president has not led. and then washington itself is dysfunctional. republicans in charge of congress made a big overpromise when they gained control. i think people saw this and they see no big results and are quite upset. trump basically is, you know, understands that and with his grandiosity has garnered their support. the challenge is to make sure people understand that candidates that may have more relevant plans understand why people are angry. and then make the case that just

having someone that understand -- understands your anger is not enough. you have to have someone that can fix these things that are broken. you have to have people that have the ability to bring people together. one of the tools of leadership i have learned through trial and error through my life is one of powerful things you can accomplish is knowing what you do not know. the minute you get to that point and have the humility to be curious enough to learn is when you can become a leader. i'm afraid mr. trump does not have that leadership skill. he has been the front running candidate for five months now. not knowing what the nuclear triad is -- he is not moving forward. he is going back as relates to his knowledge. i think people begin to see that and realize as you get closer that we are electing a president. not an agitator in chief, but someone who needs to be a commander in chief and bring us together on the economic side as well. beyond the question, trump loses

to hillary clinton. beyond question. yes, ma'am? >> i wanted to ask you about the epidemic of mass shootings that we have had for the last several years. it does not seem to be getting better. it seems to be getting worse. i know it is a very difficult problem. obviously not one fix. but what are your ideas for attacking this? mr. bush: so, it is certainly more visible. it is certainly more visible. i don't know if we have more mass shootings. it appears that way. i don't know what the facts are. it is so debilitating and sad to see it. people, i think, are scared for all sorts of reasons. the terror threat is a real one. people are scared. and then you see the violence and you see disturbances in the big urban

areas where you have the conflict between police and kids that do not seem to have any hope about what the future looks like. you get a sense that we are kind of unraveling. it is deeply troubling to me personally because this is not the country that i know we need to be. if you look at the specifics of why it is people do what they have done, outside of the radicalization question of san bernardino -- the question of sandy hook or these other places -- the question is mental. these people are deeply, mentally ill. they spiral out of control and they have access to weapons. there has not been any one pattern about how they access weapons. the one common denominator is they are crazed, deranged, and they are sick, and that on this sickness in a way that is

devastating. there should be a consensus about how we need to figure out how to build a deeper understanding and a deeper network for mental health challenges. how do you identify someone before it is too late? how do you give them the kind of medical help that they can get? how can you make sure the people that are deranged cannot access guns? some places they have, some places they have not. i am not sure we are committed to that yet. but we need to spend more money on mental health networks. -- we need to reengage with ourselves. i find it incredible that a couple who had been radicalized for three years or something, and that they were building pipe bombs in their garage, they were coworkers. the man was working, making

was a0, and he well-regarded employee. and no one knew they were organizing this incredibly violent act. somehow we have to do better at reconnecting all of us together. i do not have an answer. but the internet creates a barrier. you can live your life online and never interact with people anymore. once you get out of control, all of your thoughts get validated by the marginal side of the internet. this is a huge problem. it is something that -- there is no easy answer, as you said. i do not have an answer but you start with the mental health place. that seems to be the common denominator of all these tragedies. one more. >> i happened to see your father when he first started his campaign in atlanta, georgia years ago. , i want to thank you and your family for all of the services. also for being there to support the american people.

my question is -- my son happens to be a pharmacy manager so we hear about this all the time. drug addtion in new hampshire is a very significant issue, mostly heroin. other than securing the borders and having another war on drugs, what specific steps can you take as president to stem the tide? mr. bush: when i was governor, we created a strategy to deal with this in a comprehensive fashion, because florida was actually the source of importation of illicit drugs for a long time. the federal government was so that the flow of drugs diverted to mexico. we were on the front lines. i saw firsthand -- you go to family court and to drug court, where my daughter went, and i have firsthand knowledge of that. you see the challenges of addiction. i mean in my case, it was deeply , personal.

i was a very public figure in the fourth stage, and my precious daughter had to go through this challenge that she faced in a public way. it was not easy. but we created a strategy that dramatically reduced drug use. the way you do it is to create a strategy. i looked at it as a business opportunity. in the first week, the former president of the senate posted a summit were read brought all the treatment providers, the prevention coalition, law enforcement together for the first time in the state posy history to say, you create the strategy. i will take the lead, and my wife will take the lead in going to the legislature and they will fund the strategy. we actually did it. i called it the forefront strategy. we created prevention coalitions in every community, all 67 counties. the expanded drug treatment

because it was underfunded and it has to be part of the answer. i have learned in new hampshire that there are means other than just plain treatment that are helpful as well, to give people confidence, interacting with people going through the exact same thing. there is a restorative part of this, a network that of this that has to be built. places that do not have it will not work as well. and law enforcement people need to be fully engaged. there needs to be a federal, state, and local effort to deal with interdiction of heroin in new hampshire. there is the high-impact drug areas where federal moneys exist, but this should be far more coordinated. controlling the border is part of it, but there needs to be a much better network between the agencies. your epidemic here is principally because of prescription drug use converting to heroine use.

so the gateway drug is one that is legally offered. i think the medical associations in new hampshire, i think they need to be engaged. we are over-prescribing like nobody's business. it is crazy. 90% of the opiates prescribed illegally in this world are prescribed in america. we are creating -- if people have issues, removing pain is -- if people have issues removing pain, that does not necessarily solve the problem. creating a bunch of addicts is not the solution. there needs to be regulation and training for doctors not to just say, here, have another pill. in fact, the fda just approved the use of opiates to children. this was like six months ago. that makes no sense. i think we need to press the pause button on that. the final thing is, illicit

drugs, legal prescription drugs, there should be a tracking system that you can use to make people thate are pharmacy shop and doctor shop, and there are pharmacists who do -- who view this as a way to make a lot of money. and doctors are also overprescribing, as well. you need a database to do this. in florida we did this, this was done after my time. there was dramatic reductions in the use of, illegal use of progression -- prescription drugs. it went down 90% or something. members of the legislature did an extraordinary job. there has got a be a comprehensive approach. thank you very much. happy holidays. merry christmas. [applause] [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]

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>> c-span takes you on the road to the white house. best access to the candidates at townhall meetings, speeches, rallies, and meet and greets. we are taking your comments on

twitter, facebook, and by phone. as always, every campaign event we cover is available on our .ebsite, c-span.org >> later today, republican presidential candidate governor chris christie of new jersey hold a town hall meeting in new hampshire. we will have live coverage from new london beginning at 6:00 p.m. eastern. today's washington journal with a review of the past year in congress and highlights from the 2015 session. back at our table, editor in chief of the hill. congress passing a $1.1 trillion spending year. talk about the best and worst moments in washington this past year. speaker ryan was able to get over 150-some republicans to pass this with him. guest: yes, 100 and 50 on the

dot. -- 150 on the dot. they worked hard to get it. congress was less dysfunctional than it had been. ryan says there will not be a government shutdown. he did not want to repeat the -- government shutdowns hurt the republican party. so ryan has had a good run. critics in washington will say, well, you can get bipartisan shift if you are spending a lot of money to conservative activists were not pleased with this bill. conservative talk show hosts were not least with this legislation. but they did get a deal. they wanted it right december 11. they got it i last friday. so washington had a decent year compared to the last. obviously, one of the worst ever, and probably because he had a democratic senate and republican house, and they just

pointed the finger at one another. republic's own congress. mitch mcconnell, the majority leader, pointed out that they have education, trade, and fiscal stuff thomas stuff that they have gotten done. it seems like it was more of an adult conversation where nancy pelosi and paul ryan were engaged. under the boehner, remember, he endlooking to leave at the of the last congress. a little bit checked out. eric cantor stayed on, but he wanted to leave congress. it did show at times per now we have a speaker that is fully engaged. that is why paul ryan is attracting a lot of praise. at thatt's look back news conference when john boehner said he was resigning from congress and speaker of the house. oh, my what

a wonderful day ♪ i have to sing that on the way to work in the morning. over the last five years some our majority has advanced conservative reforms to help our children and their children. thats become clear to me this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution. this morning, i informed my colleagues that i would resign from the leadership and will resign from congress at the end of october. as you have heard me say, this is not about me. it is about the people and the institution. we witnessed the awesome sight france is addressing the greatest legislative body of the world. i hope that we will all heed his call to live by the golden rule.

this morning, i woke up and said , andayers, as i always do i decided, you know, today is the day i'm going to do this. as simple as that. host: was it as a as that? what is the back story? it is never as simple as that in politics. boehner was planning his exit at he had to convince ryan to take the job. the house at that point, before ryan agreed, was really in a chaotic state. they had no successor to boehner, who could get the 218 votes on the floor. ryan is respected by the right. he was really the only one. so boehner had to put on some catholic guilt on ryan to take the job, and he finally did. governorcourse, mccarthy said he would take the

job. guest: that was one of the most shocking things went kevin mccarthy said, no, i am going to race.t of the it would have been a challenge for mccarthy to get the 218 votes on the floor. i thought at the time he could get it, but it would have been a very difficult struggle for him here at he decided, i'm not going to do it. host: he retained his leadership post. guest: yes, and maybe down the road he could be speaker. we do not know how long ryan is going to stay as speaker. he seems to be enjoying it at the moment, but a tough job that can wear on you, so we will see. remember, a lot of people said ryan are not want to take it because it would hurt his presidential chances down the road. but he really was left with no choice. as boehner told him, listen, you have got to take this job. it is a calling in the moment is now. host: we're taking your questions and comments about

this past year and congress. what do you think were some of the highs and lows? here are the phone numbers -- start dialing in now. mccarthy though, what does it do for paul ryan and his ability to lead the conservative wings of the party who were not happy with this? aret: mccarthy and ryan friends, part of the young guns with eric cantor. they formed kind of an alliance years ago. i think it helps ryan, because ryan has not been in leadership he was the ways and means chairman and was on the presidential pick in 2012, but he is not as familiar with the house politics and how much you

have to talk to members. one of the things when i was talking to someone who knows the house, basically said, listen, ryan and talk to members about why you should vote for this bill on policies, but most members vote on politics. mccarthy knows that. mccarthy.s so i think it is a nice alliance going into 2016. the goal from the house standpoint, they have the largest majority in decades, and they want to vote it even bigger. host: and ryan promises it will be bigger. guest: he is promising that it we have always heard that this is going to be the last omnibus and next year will be different. we are going to go through regular order. we are hearing it again. it usually ends up in an omnibus work goodies get in and the last second that is not vetted, nobody has read the bill. this process is really just a terrible process.

people do not get to read the bill. there have been no hearings on some of the stuff that got into law. ryan said he knows that and does not like it, but this is the hand he was dealt with, which is true. he is claiming, ok, we will go through appropriations and hopefully the senate will pass bills. that is what has been bottled up recently. we will see. not much on the agenda other than campaign messages in 2016 other than appropriation. host: let's go back to that moment when paul ryan, republican of wisconsin, takes the gavel of speaker. ryan: when you are up here, you see it so clearly. wherever you come from, whatever you believe, we are all in the same boat. i never thought i would be life, i but early in my wanted to serve this house.

i thought this place was exhilarating. because here, you can make a different spirit if you had a good idea, if you worked hard, you could make it happen. you could improve people's lives . to make him the house of representatives represents what is best of america, the boundless opportunity to do good. frank -- the house is broken. we are not solving problems. we are adding to them. and i am not interested in laying blame. we're not settling scores. we are wiping the slate clean. host: what does that mean in real terms? guest: i think ryan is a very good communicator. he has done a lot of interviews, someone you want to have on television. he is basically saying that the way we have run the house has not worked. you look at the low congressional ratings, certainly

you cannot argue with that. so ryan is saying, listen, we're going to do it differently. i am going to communicate on the airwaves but also with democrat spirit he met with the congressional black caucus. they disagree on a lot of things. but they may agree on some reform issues. i think a lot of what goes on in life with relationships certainly applies to congress. if you communicate, if you are constantly reaching out to people, the place is a lot easier to run it once again, ryan is in the honeymoon phase. it has lasted longer than i thought. he has done a lot of communicating. that is what i think he has momentum into 2016. host: we will see what our viewers have to say. mary from texas, democrat. .aller: good morning i really feel, unfortunately, that we are at a time where the gop is able to use the media to

distort people's reality. and rather than -- they basically draw on our deepest fears, and we have got a lot of and a lot ofdia regular media, actually, who does not push back on the lies that people promote, people like donald trump. specifically, what are you thinking about? when it comes to donald trump -- caller: allies about planned parenthood, lies about obama care. about planned parenthood. these are organizations and policies that help a lot of people. yet, would you hear about them is distortions and lies. i do not see push back on those lies.

people hear them often enough, and they become their truth. host: thank you. guest: there are a lot of fact checkers in the media. there is an organization that puts out the lie of the year and the political lie of the year. when you are on the campaign trail, you hear a truth being stretched, and it is the role of the media to question if it is true. donald trump said he saw thousands of muslims celebrating after 9/11, and that attracted controversy. he has stood by that. but that has been something the media has focused on. was that it are? let's go back and look at it. i think the more the media is holding politicians' feet to the fire, the better. the media has largely done that, but it will be a test in 2016, especially with a lot more debates and people saying things that have to be fact checked and not believed without looking into it. host: planned parenthood was a

big debate in congress. in the end, the spending builder not include a proposal to defund planned parenthood. but backup when the debate was happening, you had the president of planned parenthood, because of videos released on capitol hill, testifying for hours before the oversight committee. guest: a big controversy. many were not happy that the builder not address that, conservatives. but they could not have gotten it into law because the white house threatened to veto. but those videos were a significant political event in 2015. the planned parenthood supporters have said that no law was broken, and that is true. however, those videos were designed to get the public to think about abortion in a different way, to show people what goes on behind closed doors. so i think that was the main purpose of it. from a tr perspective, the group

that but those videos out, they knew what they were doing, and because quite a firestorm. over?is the debate what about 2016? guest: a select committee will be looking into it. there will be more focus on it. certainly in a presidential election year, you want to get your base fired up. this fires of both bases, the left in the right. as far as any defunding of planned parenthood, congressional leaders like ryan and mcconnell, they want to avoid that. they know they will not win that. they might in 2017 if they have a republican president. but they will not win it in 2016. joshua, independent. caller: the problem is these politicians, phone books, newspapers, and analog, and this is a digital world.

mobile lies cannot instantly. paul ryan should be primaried out. do not let him run again for anything. as for the rest of these people, we have instant access to everything now. your lies don't work -- abc, cbs, nbc -- all of it does not work. ck, howyou, mr. cusa long have you had a screen actors guild card and why? guest: because i did a pampers commercial and got into the union when i was about three years old. ever since, i stayed in the union. the hill is nonpartisan. last presidential election, i do not vote at so i do not pick a side. it is a personal decision. as far as ryan being primaried, that was gathering attention. it was on the drudge report over the weekend. this is the job that paul ryan

signed up for. one of the other things about ryan that is different from other congressional leaders is he has a thick skin. he has, with controversial puzzles on medicare, being ripped by democrats because they are saying it privatize is medicare. ryan has taken a lot of heat, and he will continue to but he has shown to have a thick skin. in the speakership, you really need that. host: georgia, democrat. caller: how are you doing this morning? hill,e coming from the but you some like you are from [indiscernible] it is all about the republicans. host: we have not gotten to the democrats yet. we will get there. caller: anyway, my thing of it is when you was talking about congressman mccarthy, he had just kept down. he has said that the benghazi

case -- [indiscernible] we all remember that. host: tell it why. host: we will, michael. a huge mistake by mccarthy when he said look at hillary's poll numbers. they have gone down since we created the benghazi panel. listen. had a bit ofpanel a disastrous 2015. they had hillary clinton for 15 hours and really did not lay a glove on her. goalie into that committee, i thought that committee really into that-- going committee, i thought they committee really needed to unearth something, and the

failed, andmittee failed going into 20 16, so there is no doubt that mccarthy's comment will be replayed a lot in 2016. what is that? because the democrats can say that is proof that this committee is not trying to get the truth. they are just trying to win an election, and that is why it was so damaging to mccarthy. host: let's look a little at that 11-hour hearing with hillary clinton talking about benghazi in 2012. mrs. clinton: i can imagine i have spent more time thinking about what happened than all of you put together. i have lost more sleep than all of you put together. i have been racking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done, and so, when i took responsibility, i took it as a challenge and an obligation to

make sure before i left the state department that what we could learn, as i am sure my predecessors did after beirut and after nairobi and all of the on our facilities. i am sure all of them, republican and democrat alike, especially where there was loss "ok,erican life, said, what must we do better? how do we protect the men and women that we send without weapons, without support from the military into some of the most dangerous places in the world?" host: since that hearing, we have not heard much since that, and we have not seen much headline about hillary clinton. bob: they are moving forward

with a final report, and it certainly would be a partisan fact thatthe democrats will not go along with it because they will have their minority views, so they will have their final report, but the panel did lose some credibility with that hearing, and we did write about this recently. the person who is going to have the final say on hillary clinton and her e-mail issue is james comey, the head of the fbi. he is a republican, well-respected. he served the bush administration and took on the bush of ministration and he was tapped by president obama to lead the fbi, and he has not agreed with obama on some high-profile issues, and the fbi is looking into her e-mails, and we do not know exactly what they are looking into, but whatever defies they think will be be final say. you can either lead to big problems for hillary clinton, or it will be said that she had some problems but did not break

the law and she will finally be able to shake that issue which has really dog turkey amp eight. -- which has really dog turkey campaign. campaign.her caller: if we have 190 something explain it to you us how they passed a bill, and we cannot even talk about it? i am not familiar with that legislation. obviously, climate change has been a very partisan issue, and the ministration is moving forward with its really given its regulations, which publicans would like to stop. host: this looks like this is part of the agenda for 2016. what about undermining it?

climate change regulations, you can get a democrat here or aboutthat is worried their constituents and jobs, but overall, they are not going to be a but to pass legislation that will be signed into law, torpedo obama's regulations. remember, president obama tried to get climate change legislation through when the democrats led the house, but it died in the democratic-led senate, so now he is trying to get it passed legislation we. -- legislatively. to appeal a lot of what has been done, and then there are the questions of the legal battles, including on the affordable care act of what immigration, what can he do? is it lawful for him to do some of the things he is trying to

do? sue? he talked about a lot of different issues, but climate change was one of them. does he have an influence, going forward? guest: i think he does have an influence. .his pope is very political conservatives -- a lot of conservatives think he is a liberal pope. certainly, he has not shied away from controversy and climate change. one congressman boycotted, he did not show up for that speech, a republican from arizona. i think his words carry a lot of weight, and certainly, as this debate goes forward, he will job and when he feels like he has something he needs to say. host: it was a historic visit from the pope to this country. let's take a look at his speech before congress in a joint session. [video clip] >> i have no doubt that the united states and this congress have an important role to play.

for courage -- implemented a culture of care and an integrated approach. time, protecting nature. [applause] host: the poster in session -- the pope's joint session addressed to congress. one of the main issues, climate change. bob cusack,ng with the best and the worst moments of capitol hill. we will go to michael next, florida, a democrat. caller: i want to toss this out to you in the spirit that i issueasted the

-- when we brought up kevin mccarthy. also, mr. boehner. they had neurological issues. i heard it often set of mr. boehner. he was too emotional. i cannot pronounce it, and is not relevant, but a neurological issue. the same thing with mr. mccarthy. the very next day after he had some speech impediment issues, he was pulled, when it was decided he would not be able to speak to the massive, whereas he had been able to speak to the congress just fine, but apparently we would not find him adequate. host: not sure about these neurological conditions. after mccarthy's name was put forward, rachel maddow did a

segment on her show showing a speech that he gave quickly after that on foreign policy, where a lot of people were critical of the way he behaved. guest: i think "the washington post" also wrote about that. have interviewed them both. they do not have no logical problems. boehner gets emotional from time to time, but so do many people. as far as mccarthy, he didn't take some heat for a speech here or there that could have been more clear, let's put it that way. that is why, i think, when mccarthy bowed out, that is when a lot of people went to paul ryan ryan and said, listen, we need you because he is such a good orator and communicator. i think that was the hierarchy of the house leadership. i do not think mccarthy stays on if there is another speaker.

if he said, ok, i'm not going to run, but someone else like daniel webster -- i don't think mccarthy would have stayed on as majority leader. host: we are talking about congresses past year, 2015, the highs and lows. call in with your ideas, questions, comments. we will go to brian, new york, a republican. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. greta, you are the best. you mentioned the papal visit. something drives me so nuts with that. democrats, whenever they talk about -- whenever there is ,iscussion on abortion everything is separation of church and state, keep your religion away from me. not christmas, holiday -- everything is no religion. when the pope agrees with him on

climate change, all of a sudden, when the pope says is a knowledgeable. it is something that infuriates caller: hello. going to get they involved in foreign policy, and specifically hearings on isis and syria and iraq and the refugee problem? and a declaration of war? authorization new of force against isis? onl there be any action -- will there be any action from congress on that? guest: probably not.

as for is that language, they that.ot able to agree on as far as the refugees and blocking refugees that americans ave been pushing for, that is lot of things that conservatives wanted in the year and spending bill and they did not get that. gotten somet has criticism for his feelings on isis. his poll numbers on isis are not very strong. he is seen as more of a hawk stance.lary for his some analysts have said they moved to see the strategy a little bit faster, while generally agreeing with the strategy. national security, back at the forefront. republicans think that that will give them a big advantage at hillary clinton things her campaign -- hillary clinton's

campaign thinks it will be an advantage for her. host: mcconnell saying that the senate will not act on donald trump's plan to been muslims from the country. and paul ryanell on the same day criticized donald trump's policy on muslim. that was coordinated, clearly. the staff talk over time. they try to stay out of the presidential race is certainly republicans in washington are frightened of two candidates. ted cruz and donald trump. they think if one of them is at the top, they could lose the senate made they could use -- the senate, they could lose a seats.house

is going to be a very tricky time for republicans in washington who keep thinking that donald trump is going to fade. despite making a lot of controversial comments, and having controversial proposals, his numbers give going up. host: well congress get -- the caller asked will congress get involved in national security issues? guest: i think the strategy for 26 teen is putting together -- 6 is putting together proposals that will set up 2017. they cannot undermine the saran deal, they do not have the votes to do it. they will be talking about it a lot. they have any anti-american rhetoric, they are going to seize on it and a this is why we should not have done this deal. thisdent obama has said

deal is just about nuclear weapons. it is not like we're going to be the best of friends on other issues. certainly, republicans are going to be talking about this deal a lot because it does resonate with the based. . and also prisoners that have been capped, americans, in iran. t, americans, in iran. host: let's look back at 2015. another visit by a foreign leader. benjamin netanyahu was invited by the speaker of the house, john boehner. this caused a lot of uproar. guest: absolutely. it was very controversial. john boehner has taken so much heat from the conservative base, but they loved this move. the president was not a fan, nancy pelosi was not a fan. they have said it helps them in

the vote counting on the iran deal, when the republicans were trying to torpedo that deal. he came it was more of a shirts and skins game. it was one of the more controversial things that boehner did. in 2015 with the invitation both to benjamin netanyahu, and to the pub. pope. good morning. and search from the wall street -- you read an excerpt from the wall street journal about the climate change deal, defunding obamacare. isn't it sad, after 5, 6 years but they are still trying to undo what the democratic president has done?

one other thing about kevin mccarthy. can you talk about the letter that walter jones sent out? mccarthyt was because was having an affair with one of his colleagues. guest: walter jones sent out a saying a public letter that if anyone is going to be s elected toone i the leadership, they should have no skeletons in their closet. the pastferencing controversies with bob livingston and newt gingrich during the monica lewinsky the 1990's. that letter got a lot of membersn, and certainly were asking mccarthy about it. mccarthy denies that can and has denied that consistently. those were the rumors that were swirling.

these are politics, and when you run for leadership there will be rumors about a lot of things in washington. i think that is a problem for the gop, they want to have a more positive message rather than just unraveling everything president obama has done. ryan has said they need to do more. they need to be positive. party has a friend problem. they have had a brief problem for a long time. let's talk about obamacare for a second they said w. they said we will repeal and replace obamacare, four years rude and they have missed for years to have a replacement. they have never coalesced kind that -- behind that. they do not have a nominee to coalesced behind. a big year for both parties. i think the messaging is something that ryan sees as a

major problem and he wants to have a positive message. we have seen that in the campaign trail too. marco rubio says we need to have more of a vision in the gop message. host: another key moment from biden15 campaign was joe choosing not to run for president. i think he was so close to getting in. the big reason why i think he wasnot get in because hillary clinton did so well in the first debate. hillary clinton had a rough summer with the e-mail controversy, bernie sanders was surging. little bitking any vulnerable. joe biden was talking to a lot people. he was dealing with the tragic

death of his son beau. it is a massive operation, very efficient, they have the whole lore, beyond just one floor. you have fundraising here, social media here. headquarters, the i thought joe biden, if he is going to get in, he has to get in suit because organizationally he is so far behind. i think you made the right decision because hillary clinton stepped up her game. he was justnk -- too far behind in the fundraising and the campaign structure. i think joe biden will always think, what if? host: tennessee, independent line. caller: i am 45 years old. it has been about 30 years since i have been in a suffix class. your last caller mentioned the deal with iran and with terrorists. consider these

deals treaties? why are they not fighting harder? guest: it is not a treaty, because that has to be approved by two thirds of the senate. that is a criticism that the republicans have lobbied against this because they want approval. but it is not a treaty. there is a big bone of contention, because it is not going to get two thirds of support. host: we will go to dolores in tennessee. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to ask bob a question. obama said that federal workers would get a pay raise this year. i was wondering if congress was

giving themselves a pay raise. quitey are, it would be disturbing because they will not raise the minimum wage for regular work hours rate -- workers. donald trump does not need to be our president. putin over ourcks own president, a kgb man who is nothing but a tirade. he takes over other countries. is that something donald trump wants to do? i will never vote for donald trump or any other republican. governmentfederal will be getting a 1.3% increase in 2016. that will apply for federal employees, that will not apply for congress to congress has not given itself a raise for several years, because of the anger directed at washington it is

area popular for congress to give it a raise, even though some members that you have to have a place in washington and a place back home. generate a lots of -- a lot of sympathy for lawmakers. they have not given themselves a raise, and i do not see it coming until at least 2017 at the earliest. noted thateadline, it was done by executive order and goes into place in 2010. many have been pressing very hard, and senator local case -- including senator mikulski.

she is set to retire from her seat. steve from florida, a democrat. caller: good morning. the letter that senator carlton document that otton wrote and signed with others and sent to a foreign country, the leader of iran, that so that the president was not to be trusted and a liar could be nearly in act of treason. but should be looked at in congress. letter got a lot of

attention. lead inaken a lot of the senate against president obama. it was signed by 40 some senators, and was seen as too strong. they were on the defensive as far as the vote counting senator charles schumer is against the deal.eal -- the iran plus benjamin netanyahu's visit did help the democrats in the vote counting. host: call from maryland. we are listening, bill. caller: i want to tell america

that there are other issues that are going on in this world that are more important that isis or to tel. who cares about isis? is income inequality that has gotten us to this situation right now. not havepeople do anything. you have the builders of this country, the african-americans, the indians, who did not have to employtions rural white americans. system,minal justice the drug system -- host: i think you will be interested in the answer. one of the agenda items where there is a partisan support could be criminal justice reform. guest: it is something senator paul have beennd

working with democrats and at the toprick leahy of the judiciary committee. that is something the president has been interested in changing. that was put into place by president bill clinton in the 1990's, a lot of them. he has since said some of those things that they supported, he wished that he had not signed into law. that is one of the few that youn areas could get some movement in 2016. lot oft see a other areas in 2016, except for perhaps trade. deal, the tpp deal, senator mcconnell said we will not to deal with that anytime soon. viewerswant to show our the moment when president obama

goes to capitol hill to try to convince house democrats to vote for this trade promotion of florida, the fast tracking. he is walking in the halls of congress to a closed-door meeting with his fellow democrats. he goes into that, gives the rank-and-file's argument for voting for this, and then goes to the floor and says she cannot supported. guest: that was very remarkable, and a very difficult decision that she was in. herle were trying to get position on it for weeks and months as the president was struggling to get the votes he needed. and then nancy pelosi said she does not supported. but it he same time, when she did that, and the timing of it was a close vote, but they knew they had the votes. at that point nancy pelosi decided i'm against this, but i am not going to be taking this legislation down.

a very difficult position for her because so many democrats have just opposed this president's trade policy as well as president george w. bush's trade policy. host: looking back at 2015, the , and calling lows in with her comments and questions about this. we have time for a handful more of coal from all of you. a moment that happened outside of washington. the debate happened, lawmakers reacted to it, and that was black lives matter. guest: that was a big scene in 2015, and unrest with law enforcement as well. black lives matter, showing up at a lot of presidential campaign rallies, really shut down a bernie sanders event early this year.

we are not going to hear the end of that, and we're seeing various trials of police officers going on now. there is so much unrest, it is something that the president is trying to fix, but it is not an easy problem to fix. that on theg presidential campaign trail, where donald trump and republicans are certainly favoring more law enforcement. but we have also seen some disputes publicly between the comey, aboutmes the so-called ferguson effect, and the president on this issue. i think this is going to be one of the big themes, racial unrest, and law enforcement disputes, and what is the role of law enforcement, that is going to be anything in 2016. caller: i just want to say one thing. it is my