-- morning consult. we discuss underdog politics, the minority party in the house of representatives. ♪ is thursday, december 24, december/2015. welcome to washington journal. we will spend the first 45 minutes or so looking at headlines and items in the news as we look at images around the nation's capital. people prepare for christmas eve services across the world, our question would be about your religious views and do they impact your political views? here is how to join the conversation. 202-748-8001.ll guest: democrats call 202-748-8000.

.ndependent, 202-748-8002 send us a tweet at http://twitter.com/cspanwj. we will get to your calls and comments momentarily on washington journal but will start with a piece from the national catholic newspaper. a christmas miracle in washington is jim cars story. he writes about the political influence of pope francis, writing that the end of the year of political chaos and congressional dysfunction, something remarkable happened. washington did its job. what he 15 brought the resignation of a house speaker, a bombastic gop front-runner, and a socialist challenger to the clinton coronation. another surprise was leaders negotiated and passed and president obama signed major tax

legislation. there was no shutdown, less drama, and more dialogue. he writes, could it be the francis factor? he told congress you are all called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good. this is the chief aim of all politics. on capitol hill, he writes i found leaders after the pope's visit both challenged and affirmed. clearly john boehner's decision and paulthe leadership ryan's reluctant decision to accept it brought different dynamics and willingness to work together. that is from a christmas miracle in washington from the national catholic newspaper, america. we welcome comments on how your religious views impact your political views and it was the religious views of president obama that were the focus of a front-page piece of the washington post that talked about the impact of obama's christian faith.

this was a front-page piece that look that president obama not just this year but through the years. article a picture of president obama earlier this year at the service for reverend pinckney and south carolina. piece thatin the president obama did not grow up in a religious household and became a practicing christian as an adult. he has written more extensively about the spiritual awakening that almost any modern president addressing into books before he was elected to the white house and in more than a dozen speeches since. his fate has been central to his identity as a new kind of democrat that brings stability to the country's debate. a feeling from republicans through the shared my which of their judeo-christian values with just one year left in his second term. obama now holds a different distinction. has had hisesident

faith more routinely questioned and disparaged. recent polls show 29% of americans and nearly 45% of republicans say he is muslim. that is from the washington post. comments and calls welcome. how does religion impact your political views? resident obama spoke at that service and not only spoke but he saying. here's a look. amazing grace,: how sweet the sound. that saved a wretch like me. but now am found

wasshed his grace on me blind but now i see. president obama from earlier this summer. does religion impact your religious views and how? dallas on the republican line, welcome. caller: good morning. my faith does affect my political views. i was glad to see franklin graham take a stand even though i am a republican because this budget did nothing to defund planned parenthood.

i saw him on several programs and i was like to see him take that stance. also with the trouble in the world today, without faith, i don't know what we would do. hear -- and i don't i followed the republican candidates, i don't hear any of them ever talk about their faith. and how it would affect their presidency. host: you are not hearing that from the republican candidates? caller: i am not hearing it from any candidates. bernie orillary or any republican candidates. that does bother me. i do pray. when i pray, i pray for our world because there is a lot of trouble. i thank you for taking my call. and ichristmas to c-span

watch you everyone morning. i really do appreciate the format and thank you for letting us speak. host: thanks for your calls. as pat mentioned, talking about the son of billy graham, here is the story on the hill.com. that the son of billy graham is leaving the republican party over the $1.1 trillion government funding bill that last week passed. franklin graham and a facebook post declared himself independent saying shame on the republicans and democrats for passing such a wasteful spending the last week. he said in the post. let's hear from albert in chicago. caller: good morning. views don't affect my political leanings. for two reasons, one, the constitution calls for a separation of church and state. ie other really -- reason is

am a christian and my lord and savior commissioned me to do two things. love my neighbor as myself and go out and spread his message of the gospel. he did not tell me to go out and interfere with someone exercising their god-given free bombing an abortion clinic or refusing to do my job. marriage license to same-sex couples and the thing with franklin graham leaving the republican party because of the funding bill, i wonder with his involvement in the political arena, when does he find time to go and evangelize? 202-748-8001 four republicans, 202-748-8000 for democrats. let's go to north charleston, s.c. on the independent line. welcome. caller: thank you, merry

christmas by the way. listenedll you, i have to washington journal and c-span for years. my wife tells me to get another life but i really appreciate you on this channel and the show that lets us speak freely and does not lean. you don't have an agenda and thank goodness for that. we really appreciate you. religion does impact my voting. let me tell you why. i am southern baptist and born-again christian. near charleston, where the senseless tragedy occurred by this maniac dylann roof. it is so sad. here's why we need to take a stand as christians. i cannot understand. i have friends on the left and right and we don't let politics interfere with our friendship and some people do. whove some catholic friends

are liberal and maybe you can help me understand this. i don't know your religious leaning and that is your business. , not onlyd democrat lean but they are outspoken. i do not understand a practicing thatlic voting for a party is wholesale for abortion. i don't get it. it is in total denial of the catholic belief. it boggles my mind. i believe in life that consumption and i can't get away from that. i can't blame franklin graham but the problem is, where will he go? i don't even endorse the constitution party so let me tell you. i don't hate barack obama, i didn't vote for him but i don't hate him. here's where some people believe and think he is a deceiver. to hoursto remember before he came to charleston and

sang amazing grace, he was in the rose garden praising the supreme court for approving same-sex marriage. this is the best thing that ever happened? he got a bit political when he came down to mother emanuel. those people are conservative in their beliefs about marriage and abortion and things like that. he was very careful not to say what he was doing two hours earlier before he broke into song. it does not add up or make sense. you're telling some people some things and others the other and that's why some people, i'm not saying, i don't think he's the antichrist. but it is not right to deceive people. that's where he gets in trouble. religion does impact my vote so thank you for taking my call. host: new york, let's go to joann on the republican line. merry christmas and happy new year. i don't believe you mix religion with politics.

i never did and i never will. vote, icomes to my don't want to vote for a man who would do that because it is too much controversy. that's all i have to say. host: you can reach us on twitter, our handle is http://twitter.com/cspanwj. tweeting republicans who wear their religion on their sleeve are usually a turn off. thump, thump, thump? from texasller speaking about how she didn't see very many candidates speaking about their religious views. here is bernie sanders speaking at liberty university on his own beliefs. bernie sanders: i understand that the issues of abortion and gay marriage are issues that you feel very strongly about. we disagree on those issues. i get that.

suggest thattfully there are other issues out there that are of enormous consequence to our country and in fact to the entire world. maybe, we do not disagree on these. maybe, just maybe, we can try to work together to resolve them. [applause] amos, 5:24. but let justice roll on like a river. righteousness like a never failing stream. , treating others the way we want to be treated. treating all people, no matter

their race, color, stature in life, with respect and dignity. [applause] bernie sanders at liberty university a couple of months ago. our question is does religion impact your political views? it is christmas eve and lots of folks hitting the road and going various prices -- places across the country. statistics, all kinds of statistics from politics, here is one on all kinds of trouble. mom's house? to they write very significantly depending on where you live, families live closest in the south and farther apart in the west. the chart shows it. the average median distance to mother from one's home is six miles in much of the south and on the eastern seaboard 23 miles. eight miles in new york and

parts of new england and back in the western planes. in the rockies, 44 miles. you can find that at nytimes.com. memphis, tennessee. clay on the democrats line. welcome and good morning. caller: hey, how are you. host: fine thanks. caller: religion does not impact my political views. i believe in separation of church and state. i have not seen statistics but i am guessing that most religious right people are republican. they accuse the democrats of corporate influence and buying politicians. i think they engage in organizations like the heritage foundation or heritage college, i cannot member what the name is. they try and influence and impact the political views of the country. i don't think it is right.

i am a christian but i keep my views to myself. how religionis should stay out of the political arena and the united states. host: you heard the person from south carolina who could not understand how some christians, i think he said catholics, could reconcile their views and support of pro-choice with their catholicism or christian views? how do you feel about that? think the bible says those without sin can cast the first stone. i don't see how a more with-wing political view religion and how to run the country is more important than mine. i think they do a lot of things in the name of christ that he did not teach. i think they need to give it a rest. virginia, we hear from wreck on the independent line. atheist and in

believe we need to stop allowing men to determine what we do in this country. it is messing up the country. what right do we have to tell another person what they can do based on a book? you understand? the same thing in politics. we keep electing people and they keep doing detrimental things to the country. i believe people should stop pushing meth on others. host: the wall street journal writes about the religious views of the u.s. electorate. religious nunsis multiply in both u.s. political parties. , evangelicalsed dominant in the gop and americans with no religious affiliation have supplanted catholics as the largest group in the democratic party. according to a new party -- study released in november.

none" makes up 28% of democrats and aquatic leading adults compared with 19% in 2007. here is washington, d.c. republican. good morning. caller: good morning. my religious views go with my political and i am going to correct the aps. -- correct the atheist. the bible is not a myth. with president obama, his agenda, with the abortion and the assault on christians. i heard you play a tape of senator bernie sanders. i personally believe president obama is going to fulfill amos seven. i have stated he will be america's last president because

he will launch an assault on the american people. word,eve from his own there is a statement. he said when the time comes he will stand with muslim. when i called months ago, i truly believe that president obama is a closet muslim. even officials from the department of justice say he is. by his actions and troops, it shows who he is host:. sir, the president has attended christian churches, let me point out to you and i appreciate your call but let me point out that the president yesterday issued a the firstalong with lady, obama offers prayers for christians persecuted by isis, as reported by the hill this morning. this statement came from the white house that lamented the persecution of christians worldwide specifically by the islamic state in iraq and syria in a statement the day

before christmas eve. this year, churches that have run for centuries on christmas day will be silent. the silence bears tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed by isil. the president has often faced criticism from republican rivals including presidential hope holes are not doing enough to , beingristians persecuted in the middle east by radical muslim terrorists. writing christians were being targeted for genocide for persecution or being beheaded, we should be providing safe haven said senator ted cruz. in the statement president also noted that during the christmas buildup, he said those of us fortunate enough to live in country second on are the birthright of all people to practice their faith really give thanks for the blessing. michelle and i are government full that many christians do not enjoy that right and hold especially close to our hearts and minds those have been driven from their homelands by

unspeakable violence and persecution. next up is our independent line, democrats, chicago. welcome. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: i don't think people should force their religion on anybody. i just want to say this of the president. he is the president of everybody. i think if more presidents took that attitude not to push their religion on everybody, it would be great. everybody in the united states is not a christian. offended, that are they don't act like it. -- they they don't

don't mind people getting killed if they are different color. .on't say that if you are a christian you don't insult other people because they don't think like you do. no, i don't let political and religion get mixed up. i think it is private. host: david in ashburn, virginia. independent line, welcome. caller: hello and good morning and merry christmas to you. i am a christian, i probably belong to the demographic of the conservative evangelical. religion, i think everyone has a religion and a value system that determines what is important to them. that is going to influence how they vote so i think everyone actually allows their religion to influence their politics. it might influence it in a way that is not expected.

martin luther famously said his conscience was captive to the word of god and i agree. not to the government or the laws of the government. that means i will want to vote for a candidate who is my conscience and gives it the most freedom. not be somebody that agrees with the 100% theologically. martin luther also said he would rather be ruled by a wise turk than a stupid christian or a wise muslim than a stupid christian. candidate, is probably rand paul. he is not an outspoken evangelical. he said that he has struggled with his faith and had a hard time with it. , i he is the one who would think, according to his political values, give my conscience the freedom that i would want in order to worship christ. that is just one way that i think my religious ideas are

influencing politics. i would stress again that everyone has a value system and . god, a religion every political candidate has a value system that you might as well call religion. that should be taken into account. thank you for your comment. our question is does your religion impact your religious views? republicans, 202-748-8000 democrats, 202-748-8002 for independents. ted cruz talked about his fate cent value voters summit. a fewuz: if i had come years ago and set a christian woman was going to be locked up in jail for her faith, the media would have dismissed me as a nutcase.

that is where we are today. i are you, kim and embraced and i told her thank you. [applause] i said you are inspiring millions across this country by standing for your faith. thatook of acts tells us when paul and others were in jail god did an earthquake and broke up in the jail cell. i told kim is that you would be lifted up in prayer by millions of believers across america and across the world. host: ted cruz from september's value voters summit. 202-748-8002 for all others,

does your religion impact your political views? we hear from bob in philadelphia. caller: good morning and merry christmas. thank you for taking my call. caller fromecho the catholics, about the the democratic catholics. i am a republican and a conservative catholic. barely -- very deeply ashamed of those that are liberal and vote democrat d. needed to say that for a lot of people, their secular ideology trumps religion and it is shameful. speaking to a broader issue, the president, for him to give lip service to the questions that are being persecuted in the middle east is simply lip service.

if these were muslims that were being crucified and killed wholesale, he would have mobilized every resource including the military to do something. but he has done nothing to help christians, absolutely nothing. shame on the president. they can for taking my call. host: emily in denver. democrats line, hello. caller: good morning c-span. i am a catholic and i suppose i am a liberal catholic. kind that the last caller despises. i try not to have religion impact my views. but i don't like politicians like ted cruz, mike huckabee, or people like the last caller who impose their religious views on others. bible, asat in the the bible says judge not lest ye

be judged. that's how i try to conduct myself. thank you for taking my call. host: thank you for your call. rio rancho, new mexico on the independent line. this is mike, hello. caller: good morning, merry christmas. i am an evangelical christian and that is why i am independent. i listen to republican people call in and say they are having their religion impact their politics. mine definitely impacts mine. i am thoroughly ashamed of the republican party which is why i dropped out. they tell me they will do this and that. for have done nothing their religions that does not impact their politics, they have not studied this country. mike, what specific ways

would you say that your faith influences your political views? caller: my faith influences my political views first and foremost, i will never ever vote for anybody that is for abortion. i will never do that. that is the first thing i look at when i vote. every republican i have voted for, i did not vote for mitt romney. i did not vote for john mccain. that is not to say i voted for barack obama either. but neither one of those men have done anything to stop abortion. marriage against gay because i think the bible is very clear on that. back to my point, anybody that says religion does not impact their politics has not studied the history of this country. that is why we have this country. for freedom of religion. host: that is our conversation.

comments and calls about how your faith impacts political views. we welcome your comments on twitter. this one says not at all. this one says, not at all, but i find it sad nonbelievers are so hateful toward people who are christian. and, i never vote for anyone determined to talabanise the nation. and the two most religious presidents in my life for carter and george w. bush. how did they do? and from jody, who says, for the ones who worship money. back to your calls, tennessee, rich is on the independents line. caller: merry christmas, bill. host: merry christmas. caller: thanks. i have some time to make a few quick notes, so maybe i can get in a few points. echo theall, i have to

last caller in that -- obviously impacts political views. host: rich, you are breaking up. go ahead. caller: i'm sorry. bad connection on this phone. it impacts life in general. it informs what your views are on everything and how you respond. and we are called to be theirians, to preserve world and to illuminate the truth. and you can't do that if you keep your views to yourself. as far as not judging, which that always comes up, if the bible,would read the jesus was clearly talking about hypocritical judgment.

in the verses that immediately follow, he commands to judge with a righteous judgment. and we are commanded to judge, which is what we do when we take sides on political issues. anyone talking about people who use religion to inform their views, that it's a judgment in itself. and the last point about legislating morality, another comment we hear is that you -- well, all laws legislate somewhat of what is right and what is wrong. host: rich, i'm going to let you go there. breaking up a bit honest. some news this morning from bethlehem, it is christmas eve. a story about the church of the bethlehem's angels appear at christmas. and another story, too, on a sad christmas in bethlehem. this is from the "washington

post" to this morning. a town usually brimming with visitors. they write the number of tourists due to the violence in that area in october and november was half the number of previous years. you'll find that in the "washington post." to surely in princeton -- shirely in princeton, kentucky. the republican line. caller: hello. yes, i want to make a couple of comments here. i feel like religion needs to be and our government. they got god out of our schools and everything else. and the country has been going downhill ever since. and i feel like the ones who are calling in and saying judge not as you shall be judged, they

also need to read where the bible says i shall not kill. and abortion is definitely killing. and i shall not live. and you know hillary is lying when you see her mouth moving. and i just don't understand where a lot of people get their ideas that god has nothing to do come about ofe our country. host: we started our conversation talking about the action on congress following the pope's address in october. one of the worlds preeminent leaders had a chance to stake to a gathering -- had a chance to speak to a gathering of this nation. [video clip] >> do unto others as you will have them do unto you. rule points us in a clear

direction. let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. take for others the same possibilities for which we seek ourselves. go as welp others to would like ourselves. a world, if we want security, let us give security. if we want life, let us give the life. if we want opportunity, let us provide opportunities.

thewe use for others -- yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time uses for us. >> [applause] host: about 10 more minutes of your phone calls on does your religion impact your political views? a couple of items in the news this morning. ,"headline in the "usa today they write that several hundred black lives activists shut down one terminal at the minneapolis-st. paul international airport. the protesters not only disrupted rail traffic to the terminal, they blocked the freeway in front of the airport. also, this morning, the front

page of the "new york times," relating to gun violence. the campaign is financed by the bloomberg group heard the national basketball association -- but the organization that paid for the ads, every town for gun

safety, has a robust and controversial agenda. it was founded by a former new york mayor specifically as a counterweight to the nra and battles at the local, state, and federal level to expand background checks for gun buyers. you can read more at nytimes.com . back to our calls and our topic this morning. in florida, bill is on the democrats line. caller: good morning and merry christmas. i am not one that would normally call into a talk show, but i did hear some questions about catholics' views. i am a liberal catholic. i suppose -- support the women's right to choose. i do not support the death penalty, nor do i support life without parole. both of those are against christ's view of redemption.

and because of my views, if i use the death penalty and life without parole as a litmus test, i would not be able to vote for anyone. it is not a perfect society. and that is my view. i hope i explain to my non-catholics how a liberal catholic -- how we think and operate. host: lee is next in maryland, the independents line. caller: good morning, bill. i sure wish that you and pete would stop censoring people when they call into the program. they have a right to their opinion. if he says they are a muslim, that is their opinion. secondly, to call obama a christian -- i guess he sings "amazing grace" well he murders 1.5 million babies a year in this country. host: to your point, i did let the caller make his point. i made the point the president has said, and by his actions of

attending services, he said he is a christian. i did give the caller a chance to respond. he had plenty of time. he dominated that conversation. caller: look, i don't agree he is a muslim either. i think he is maybe an atheist. definitely a communist. but if you want to -- they want to say that, you need to let them speak. you and pete are nice guys. you seem like a nice guy. but you need to let people speak. and the last thing i would like to say is jesus is what this country needs. i say it every time i call on the program. you have a good morning, bill. god bless you. host: we go to dean, who is up next in detroit. the democrats line. caller: i just want to say that my voting is not formed by my religion to the extent that i feel the democrats follow more

the teachings of jesus and the republicans are more what jesus describes as subscribers in the rees. they are caught up more in self-righteousness than righteousness. this thing about judge not unless you be judged, to me what get all of the stuff out of your life that goes against the teachings before you stand in judgment of someone else. said that when it is all said and done, each man, each person will have to stand before god and give them -- him an account of what they have done. not what your mother did, not what your neighbor did. when it comes to things like abortion, abortion has taken place since time began. when i was younger, i wrote a paper regarding abortion. and this was before rove he wade, and ioe v.

was appalled to of the extent women went through to get abortions. to me, when the law passed, all it did was give them the right to have a safe procedure. understand that the woman who has an abortion or that person who is engaged in homosexual activity or gay marriage, they will have to stand before god. and the scripture is clear. but it is not up to us to judge them or to go to abortion clinics and shoot the dock or. and that is just basically what i have to say. host: a couple more minutes of your calls and comments, talking about religion and its impact on your political views. hillary clinton at the most recent debate last weekend spoke about outreach to muslims. [video clip] mrs. clinton: i was a senator in new york after 9/11 and we spent

countless hours trying to figure out how to protect the city and the state from additional attacks. one of the best things that was done -- and george w. bush did this and i get him credit -- was to reach out to muslim americans and say we are in this together, you are our partners. and we also need to make sure that they really discriminatory messages that trump is sending around the world do not fall unreceptive ears. isis' besting recruiter. host: a couple more calls and comments on religious views and its impact on your political views. mount vernon, new york, go ahead. caller: i called on the republican line. host: yes, sir, go ahead. caller: i am a born again christian and i love the lord. that if a mansays comes to preaching and teaching

any other work other than his word, to stop. now, as far as this abortion and everything, -- [indiscernible] the gift of god is eternal life. life is nothing but -- [indiscernible] -- a vapor. bodythe church, even the -- no, judgment begins in the house of god first. judgment begins in the house of god. everybody knows that. -- he isunny thing is taking the judgment in the house of god. you know who is messing up society? the church. host: the "washington times" has a piece on prayer. the informal tradition stood up

complaints. the united states air force academy will continue to reaffirm to all could ads that they are free to practice religion other choice or subscribe to no religion at all. one more call, michigan, the independence line. keith, how does religion impact your political views? caller: i would just like to remind everybody in america that the separation of church and state was not set to stop the state from interfering with the church, it was set up so that

the church would not influence this date. everybody forgets the first person who came to this country were fleeing religious persecution throughout europe. just like with abortion or gay, it is not that being pro-choice makes a religious person have an being antiabortion is having a religious person force their religious view, which they are more than happy to have and i don't and i them at all, their view on me, which violates me as an american citizen. we are all created equal. for them to criticize me because i don't like their religion -- i am not criticizing their religion, i am just not buying into it -- is more anti-american and anti-religious in the long run. but the separation of church and state was not to protect the church from the state, it was to protect the state from the church. host: appreciate all your comments. "washington journal" continues.

we are going to take a look at the year in immigration. we will be joined by fawn johnson and take a look at immigration stories over the next -- past year. and our author series continues with matthew green. he is the author of "underdog politics." all of that i had on washington -- that ahead on "washington journal." announcer: this holiday weekend, booktv brings you back to back airings of afterwards. at 7:00 p.m. eastern, arthur

brooks discusses his latest book, "the conservative heart." >> the biggest mistake i think we make on the conservative side a lot, the one that trips people up is the one that should be the easiest, which is to get happy. announcer: at 8:00 p.m., cornell west discusses his book, "the radical caring." >> he understood that for any human being who wants to reach a level of integrity, honesty, and decency as a long-distance runner, you have got to kill something in yourself, fear. your obsession with position and status and wealth. announcer: followed at 9:00 p.m. by piano -- john danforth, "the relevance of religion." >> religion does point just beyond ourselves.

for faithful people, what is in it for me, the me, is not central. announcer: and at 10:00 p.m., senator claire mccaskill talks about her book, "plenty ladylike." i don't think we do anybody any favors by trying to dress up politicians as if we are not madehuman beings who have major mistakes and have major problems in our life. announcer: a panel discussion on william f buckley junior's run for mayor in 1965. at 11:00 p.m., winston groom discusses his latest book, "the generals." >> one of the first questions i am usually asked is why did you choose these three men from the second world war. and my answer is that they supered, i believe,

courage,istics of character, and patriotism. announcer: on site tonight at 8:00, we look back at a turning point in history in, "1932." and alyssa katz discusses her book, "the influence machine." >> there is a reason that i chose the chamber of commerce as a subject for my book. and it is because this single organization really sums up the story of how we got here to this place. announcer: this holiday weekend, watch "booktv" on c-span2. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: fawn johnson is the chief policy editor with the "morning consult," back with us this morning to focus in particular on immigration policy over the last year or so.

thank you for joining us. guest: happy to be here. host: i thought we would start by going back to read after the election and president obama's executive actions on immigration. we will pick up where -- our conversation there. [video clip] president obama: we are going to offer the following deal, if you have been in america for more than five years, if you have children who are american citizens or legal residents, if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you are willing to pay your fair share of taxes, you'll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. that is what this deal is. let's be clear about what it is not. this deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. it does not apply to anyone who might come to america illegally in the future. citizenship ornt

the right to stay here permanently or offer the same benefits that citizens receive. only congress can do that. all we are saying is we are not going to deport you. i know some of the critics of this action college amnesty. well, it is not. amnesty is the immigration system we have today. millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules all politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes. that is the real amnesty. leaving this broken system the way it is. host: fawn johnson, that goes back to november 20, what was the underlying political aim of the administration and the president making those announcements? guest: this is basically the very last ditch effort the president could make to try and bring some rationality to the immigration system that we have here in the united dates.

-- united states. as i have talked about for years, there is somewhere between 10 and 11 million undocumented immigrants here. there are fewer that are coming out than, say, 10 years ago. but it is really hard to know what to do with them. there have been efforts in congress to come up with a way to put them into the system and has failed completely. lastis is the president's effort to bring some relief to the people who have been here for a really long time. gone in place because there is a lawsuit against that, but if it were ever to go forward, we are talking about some 4 million. host: the president striking a very optimistic tone, saying here is the deal we are going to offer. you mentioned the lawsuit. what were the obstacles? guest: i mean, it should not have been a surprise that republicans in congress immediately called foul and said

this is outside of the round of the executive branch. this is a battle that has been going on between republicans in congress and president obama for his entire presidency. that was not a huge surprise. the lawsuit was not a huge surprise either. there was a couple that were filed, one west dismissed, but 26 states joined with texas to see the administration, saying that the action would place an undue burden on the states. and that has been upheld a federal appeals court fifth circuit, which is known to be fairly conservative. so the entire action has been put on hold for a year. on the next up be the supreme court, probably this year. guest: we move -- host: we move forward from that story to today. a story that is starkly different from the tone we heard last year. dhs plans to deport families. they write that the department

of homeland security has begun preparing for a series of raids that would target for deportation under the families who flocked to the united states since the start of last year. the nationwide campaign to be carried out by the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement agents would be the first large-scale effort to deport families who have fled violence in central america. guest: not much, except for politics. this is -- i was fascinated when i looked at this because what the department of homeland security is doing is they are saying if you have come as a family -- so we are not talking about the children and the teens that come unaccompanied -- but if you come across the border from central america or generally fleeing violence as a family and you have not been granted asylum, a refugee type of status, and you have been

ordered by a judge to be deported -- so this is a long process -- we will go and deport you. it affects about 100,000 families who have come in the last year. and i don't know that there is going to be a ton of deportations. show, is an effort to first of all, the citizens of the united states that the u.s. does uphold its laws, but there has been a recent surge of people coming across the border from the central american countries because of violence. needs to sendtes a message to those people in those countries saying you can't do this. we will support you. which is very important to have that image so it will keep the flood of people from coming across the border. host: fawn johnson is our guest, the policy chief at "morning consult." a02) 748-8000 for if you are legal immigrants to the u.s.

(202) 745-8002 for all others. announcement this this morning in the "washington post," does it have anything to do with the aftermath of san bernardino and paris? guest: probably, but this is unrelated in the sense that everybody starts talking about immigration and terrorism almost immediately whenever it hits the news. so this is a similar argument that was put forth last year when the president took his executive action. in theory, before they would have ever been radicalized. that peopleconcern from all across the hs and others worry about. and so i think there is that part of it, but i believe that the actual administration's

reasoning is that they need to send the message to people in central america that this is not a safe haven. if you are in central america and you are affected by violence and what you see is pictures of children and families at a detentionn center -- center that is safe, the assumption is if i ride on a train and somehow get myself across the border, i'm going to be ok, too. they are not just sending messages, they are sending money. in that $1.1 trillion spending bill, congress grants $750 million to tackle causes of central american migrants search. where would that money be focused? guest: on the migrant surge? well, one of the things that happens is this dhs action to deport only affects families.

so under the law, if there is an unaccompanied minor that comes across the border, and that minor is generally detained, that costs money. there are human and civil rights protections around the children. and they cost money. particularly california and texas other states that have to deal with these and have rightly complained that this is a big burden on their facilities and their costs. host: we have callers waiting. john in tampa, florida. good morning. caller: yes, i would like to let know viewers, everybody that the media does not publish this ever could and that is from 1948 to 1972, worker productivity increases directly matched worker wage increases. then in 1973, the divergence occurred where worker wage

increase dropped. loss of productivity increases up to 2014 all with a straight line with the same slope. you look at the graph of emigration into the u.s., it starts in 1973, growing exponentially. you look at a correlation between immigrants coming into the u.s., lower wages for u.s. citizens, you added at to the h1 -b1 these the abuse, and then chinaok at nafta, giving the most favored, this country has no hope for its citizens having any decent wage improvements in the future. host: let's address his issue of wages paid is there a correlation -- wages. is there a correlation there? , he is rightow that wages have stagnated, especially in the last 10 years,

and productivity has increased. depending on the cyclical nature of the economy. and it is true that from the 1970's until somewhere around the 1990's and especially after 9/11, there was a large influx of immigrants that came into the united states. these are generally not well educated immigrants who take jobs that are under the table, and they are low-wage jobs. so that particularly depresses wages and the kinds of industry that -- construction, any kind of service industry, like the hotel industry or the restaurant industry. there is less evidence that any kind of wage stagnation is affected by people who are in a slightly higher pay category. generally because somebody who immigrantcumented cannot get those kind of jobs. host: here is standing in

alabama. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. go ahead. caller: i am on the air? host: yes you are, danny. sheer: she is spanish and got with this man and had five kids. he left them for 3.5 years. she done a job and everything else. the kids hadn't seen her in two years. he got in trouble and give her the address. they took her kids. i took her to the last appointment she had. she got to visit them for four hours. and then she could not see them no more. they adopted them out. adopted the kids out. that was heartbreaking. her husband got in trouble. she hadn't even seen him in two years. three and a half years they had been separated. they came and got her kids and adopted them out. but i have another point. i work the same job as the

spanish kid did. we made the same thing. i was paying taxes would hundred $10 a month. -- $110 a month. madede exactly what i before he was cut. he stayed there for five years. he left for three weeks. went and had his name changed, come back with another cause, or two for four more years. host: afghani, you are talking about some sort of green card -- danny, you are talking about some sort of e-card? green card, he had a or visa card. he worked here for five years and made the same thing before the cut my taxes and didn't cut his. he went and changed his last name to a different green card. came straight back and worked five more years. host: appreciate your call.

where are we with the status to migrants in this country from central and mexico -- central america and mexico from what we were, say, five years ago? guest: there are actually a lot less coming over the border. who areer of people here has remained the same, but the border security has stepped up dramatically, particularly in the last five years. partly because of just the political desire to. people are demanding that they actually stop letting the flow happened. gottenhing that has back, particularly at mexico. the people understand how the border security system works. the influx has actually decreased net. there is at least in the last couple of years, there has been

a net loss. but that doesn't change the people who are already here. and it doesn't change the small surges we see on a month-to-month basis. again, those are people who are fleeing violence, which is different than coming here for a job. host: fawn johnson with the "morning consult," and a piece that you wrote, donald trump early in the campaign called for that wall along the mexico border. ryan'sright, paul moderate immigration views could bolster trump. what were you trying to point out? i have so, paul ryan -- been fascinated watching his rise to power -- but paul ryan was and still is, i think, i haven't heard anything that has said this test is, a big believer in immigration or. he was on board with the plan -- so we are fast 40 even further

back -- fast forwarding even further back, the republicans put forth a series of principles on immigration reform. but the key part, the part that is the most political, was the part that gets the most play, involves a way to deal with the undocumented population. and under the republican principles that john boehner, the person who put afford, but paul ryan also stated that the time said he thought there should be a way for people to rationalize their status. he called it earned legalization. they were supposed to be , admit thatreport they committed a crime and pay a fine, but after that they could get themselves on a path to citizenship. host: so your point is that if there is a republican president, that the moderating views? guest: it is hard to know exactly what you can to.

if you look at another presidential candidate, marco has the reputation of being moderate on immigration because he sponsored a bill several years ago that would have given a path to citizenship, how you as a person who is in a political situation, particularly among republicans, how do you tell to that because someone like -- how do you tout that because someone like trump or a hardliner is going to confront you. i have not heard much from paul ryan about immigration in the past year, but we do know that he was on board with the republican -- the house republican's plans to support the comprehensive immigration bill as early as a year and half ago. host: did we ever hear how he felt about the senate plan? guest: he did not endorse the senate plan because what he

wanted was he did that -- not want there to be a special plan to citizenship, which is what they put forward. years a long path, 13, 14 and difficult to manage. but paul van was looking for what he considered a way in which you can get legal through normal means, but without doing anything special for undocumented immigrants. host: we have broken down our phone lines. (202) 748-8000 for legal immigrants. (202) 748-8001 for illegal immigrants. (202) 745-8002 for all others. christian is in a carver, new jersey on our illegal immigrants line. good morning. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: hey. i am from south america. and i just want to know how they can say that we cannot come into they kickry because

out of the country a lot of the people. host: when did you come to the country? caller: i come to the country 10 years ago. host: are you working? caller: no, i'm not working. host: let's move on to arizona. go ahead. is kate in los angeles. caller: i would like to talk about the data, the stats regarding the impact, the adverse impact of illegal immigration on black america. we know that for every 10% increase in immigration, black america loses 3/10 of 1% of

their income. and since the 70's, there has been a 400% increase in immigration. politicianst the talk about black america? traditionally, at least for the last 60 years, voted democrat. and yet the democrats want to make 11 million illegals legal. is ins not a policy that economicallyfits black america. could you touch on that? guest: she raises a great point, and also we have been talking about republicans for the last half hour or so, especially republicans to have some sort of reform ideas, the problems they face, but this is a problem within the democratic party as well. and they do a fairly good job of

not articulating it quite as clearly as our caller did, but you see a little bit of discomfort in the congressional black caucus, especially if there is going to be rhetoric in the democratic party saying that it is ok to allow 11 million undocumented people to become legal here. and another point that i have found from studying a lot, the unemployment rate for uneducated -- not uneducated, but less than high school degree men is in the 20% range. so it is a very difficult problem. those are the kinds of jobs for which the unauthorized immigrants will be competing folks.ese poorer host: is immigration in issue democrats are avoiding on the trail? guest: it has not been terribly prominent, partly because --

this will probably change when we get to the general election, but what you're seeing is, of course, hillary clinton and bernie sanders, the sort of second runner in the democratic nomination race, going at one another on things they are different about, but the one thing that has happened is that hillary clinton said she would expand the president's executive action. hard to see how she does that because one of the things the justice department has said is het the president, when he thought he could go as far as he did without breaking the law, but that is what she said. she is catering to the people in the democratic party who want to see a really broad change. host: let's go to the veil, arizona. caller: good morning. good morning. good morning, world. good morning, usa. i would like to feel warm and

fuzzy at this time when it is christmas, but i don't because i am so disgusted with the conversation. let me point out my name is ja meies robert, or name. let me election to the usa. -- let me lecture to the usa. this country was formed from an historical pattern as being known as america. they displaced and killed the original people. i feel real -- that i feel real bad for. and i have very, very liberal views on everything because if you leave people alone, you can create a dignity. if you leave people alone, you can create a little bit of a more warm and fuzzy attitude toward each other.

and i know that you are not recording this year because i don't hear it. ere because i don't hear it. host: we obviously record the program so our viewers can see at any time they want. thanks for your comments. legalr from ramon, a immigrant to the country. caller: merry christmas. host: merry christmas. go ahead. inler: i have been here kansas for 43 years. and i became a citizen a long time ago. and i learned to assemble to the life of the united states. most of the people that come from other countries, they don't behind about the language, the flag, the constitution, and all this other stuff it they just want -- stuff. they just want the goodies. we are willing to pick up you

know what with our bare hands when we get over here for one dollar. and once we learn the system we become just parasites. most of us. we are very hard-working. when it comes to self discipline, responsibility. we love the countries we come from. and we are willing to go back of time for a short period time until we run out of money or whatever and we come back again. we do not want to live like an american. it doesn't make any sense. and thanks to our federal government, to me that is the with cancer this country has, our own federal government. host: let me follow-up with some commentary in the "national review" about a change in the immigration outlook. the conservatives must offer an alternative to clashing ethnic

tribalism just as melting pot nationalism helped forge an american identity. we need a new melting pot nationalism suited to our own time. guest: that is a great point. and also, i think -- and the caller puts it quite well as it isas -- what -- interesting to see this from the national view because it is conservative perspective. the problem that we have today is that we've got this massive population of unauthorized

immigrants, some of whom have been here for a very long time, plus whatever they are friends with. oftentimes there are mixed families, so we have a whole other set of immigrants in some form of status that makes with the -- mix with the undocumented population, and it is a different society. they have a different way of disseminating information. they definitely know how to work the system. i have met undocumented immigrants that talk about where they go to get their fake id cards and off like that. so the lack of a simulation -- lack of assimilation is a real problem. the republicans and democrats who have tried to work it out is that you require to learn english, for example. i do hope that the country can become one again; although, it is different now than it was in the 1900s. society is changing, and that is

scary to a lot of people. it is the reason why this is such a tough issue for members of congress to actually tackle because people's fears, up -- fears come up. that is going to change something, be at the wages i should be having as a dishwasher in a restaurant or it is going to change the way my school looks. you name it. host: let's get back to calls. john is on the line. good morning. talking about immigration and the stories over the past year. caller: thank you. merry christmas to everyone. i just wanted to correct the person you have there. she was asked a question directly whether immigration causes a reduction in wages. she never even mentioned the h1-b visa situation. you can go to any i.t. company throughout california and the

country and you would sit in a room that is populated by people who have gotten into this country on h1-b visas -- country on h1-b visas. the only reason they are here is because they are accepting anywhere between 25% and 40% less in wages. and this is clearly something that the corporations are pushing, people like zuckerberg, etc. is clearly biased and unaware of what is happening in the world. i would encourage the viewers to open their eyes and do not be live through -- lied to through statistics. thepurpose here is democratic party to continue to maintain a dependent class of people and to slowly overwhelm its opposition so they can implement whatever socialist

utopia they like. host: we will get a response from fawn johnson. guest: it is true that we have not really talked about the legal immigrant workforce that is here on h1-b visa is. these are temporary visas. they go for three years and can be renewed and are for highly skilled jobs. host: how long are they temporary? guest: three years, and the you can renew it for another three years. the techpt is companies in the united states cannot -- they say they cannot find enough skilled computer programmers, say, or other kinds of technicians among the american population, so they want to go to places like china and india and find people who have come from china and india and have gone to college here -- that is another place they have them.

and because it takes a green card, they have a temporary visa called the h1-b. there is a limit to given every year. it is limited by the fact that there is only a certain number that can be given every year. and there are laws in place that require if you have an h1-b employee, you'll have to pay that person commensurate to what you would pay an american worker. host: is there any info on how longest day? guest: it is not always the goal, but let's say i am hp for google and i bring in an h1-n b worker, what i really want to do respond to that person for a green card. it takes so long to get one that i apply for an h1-b visa for that person and at the same time apply for a green card for them. in erie, after six years, my

employee should have a green card. but if that person is from india, that can take a lot longer. so it is a messed up the system. and there is some debate about whether it is affecting the wages of american workers. the law does say that you cannot pay them less than you would pay an american worker for the same job, but there is some argument that there might be some negotiations that goes on because you have these workers that are essentially tied to the employer for the time that they are waiting for the green card. theyhat would change if were free to go out and look for other work. host: you can send us a tweet at @cspanwj. here is one that says assimilation has always been a problem in the usa. back to calls. florida, a legal immigrant.

good morning. caller: good morning. myself, whatnt right now is going on in america topic, in every other immigration there is not a difference when it comes to people not being informed of what the reality is of the subject. there is aght now is bad rap about immigrants that are taking jobs from americans, that they need to be sent back. that immigrants are not taking jobs from americans. they are doing the jobs americans don't want to do. school -- if you ask a little kid in elementary, what you want to do when they grow up, none of them are going to tell you i want to be mowing lawns, i want to be picking

tomatoes. jobs a lot of americans don't want to do and can't do. and that is just the reality. -- who is going to be working in the farms? who is going to be mowing the lawns? i can talk about the jobs americans can do not only because they don't want to do it , but because physically they can do it. american a 27-year-old that has been in this country off his life. and he was looking for a job. he could not find a job through his winter break. one day he came home and said, my, i got a job. where did you find it? well, i got a flyer to work in the landscaping company. he says, mom, i'm going to give it a try. well, by the third day he was dying in the heat of florida. host: we will let you go there.

because love that story a couple of years ago i went and , a plant a nursery nursery in connecticut of a guide who basically had flowers and also to those things that he grew and used a different visa program for agriculture workers to have his nursery operate. and one of the things he told me was that he can't -- most of the americans he ends up hiring for these jobs, which involves moving plants around, said that they generally do not last more than three days on the job. but he has this crop of temporary legal immigrants here on work visas, and he houses them and he said that he loved working with them because they would get all the overtime that they could, especially when the end.n got jacked up at the

and it was fascinating to listen to him talk about the difficulties. he had a few americans on staff, and they were very proud of themselves. host: our guest is fawn johnson, most of the time with "national journal." you are now with "morning consult." "hat is the "morning consult? guest: it is kind of a new business model for news. digital media, which is helpful in the way because it allows us to get more stories out relatively quickly. host: people subscribe to get your reports? guest: because we have a polling operation that we can use for editorial purposes, we are able to put all of our content out for free. it is policy focused. we have various briefings. you can go to the website and sign up for them.

to -- great opportunity for my purposes, at least -- to delve into the real nitty-gritty of policymaking. host: we have a couple of minutes left. a story this morning in the "new york times" about a visa issue. tensions with iran rise over visa measures. a new american law that limits visa free travel with the the iranianswhich regarded as a sanction and a violation of the recently completed nuclear accord. guest: we were talking about the terrorism problem that arises in immigration. $1.1 a part of the big trillion omnibus bill that passed last friday, there is a new language in it that requires people who are dual nationals of sudan, or, syria, and

people where visited any of those countries since march 2011, they cannot take advantage of an expedited visa process. they have to go through the little more lengthy process. and this is -- it is called the visa waiver program, something that the united states deals with with about 20 countries. and some other countries, i think, might consider this to be a breach of the agreements we have between the countries. so this has put a little bit of pressure on secretary of state john kerry, who is trying to assure -- ensure the iranians -- assure the iranians that there is not going to be any problems with this. but people are a little concerned about that particular new we don'tso

know how it is going to play out in the law. host: here is carl in orchard park, new york. caller: good morning. congratulations to c-span on using the breakdown of your comments with the term illegal immigrants. finds it very difficult to ever use that term. she says on authorized or undocumented. in my opinion, they are here illegally. now having said that, let's go back to what some politicians to 12ying with the 11 million illegal immigrants here. you can't just go to their homes, round them up, and send them back. my point is, ms.my point is, mse don't have to. we verify with an additional step hopefully passed by congress that would put a heavy penalty on an employer that either ignores or goes through

either and still hires a person a heavy penalty on that employer. if that happened, there would be virtually no jobs for the illegals. and they would self deport. guest: no disagreement. program that is voluntary, required in some states, but voluntary nationwide. it requires contractors to check. and i get a job, they will look at my record. host: is there any consensus in congress in making that tougher? guest: there is consensus that it should be required. there is not consensus about how it is done or what other provisions should be attached to it. the president of the united states has said that he wants to expand you verify, he wants to

make it required for all employers. he also wants that in conjunction with a broader immigration program. wants toess community make sure it is phased in over time so it is not affect small employers. there are errors in the system which can cause a lot of problems. we've been talking about the year and immigration. where are you watching this story in 2016? watching thel be supreme court and see what happens with the president's executive action which will come right before the conventions. that will cause a lot of rhetoric. i'm always watching republicans to see how they deal with it. es -- we wille on

be watching to see what happens with the visa programs. there is broad consensus that they need to change. visaatest wrinkle was the waiver program and the terrorist question -- it might change the conversation to be more about homeland security, national security rather than a racial related issue. that might be healthy. host: i viewers and listeners can follow you on twitter. thank you for being with us. washington journal ahead. our author series continues. we will talk with matthew green, who was a politics professor at catholic university. he joins us to talk about his book, "underdog politics: the minority party in the u.s. house of representatives. also talk about the year in congress as washington journal moves on. ♪

>> three days of featured programming this holiday weekend on c-span. friday evening at 7:00 eastern, congressional republican leaders honoring dick cheney at the capital. the unveiling of a marble bust in emancipation hall. >> when the vice president had his critics going off the deep , does itsked his wife bug you would people refer to me as darth vader? she said, no, it humanizes you. [laughter] [applause] saturday night at 8:00 30 eastern, an in-depth look at police in minority committees. former st. louis police officer and washington dc police chief --

>> get the if they feel like you are being offensive. and encountersl requests -- versus demand. those things change the dynamic of it. race and the criminal justice system with white house senior adviser valerie jarrett and others. at 6:30, portions of this year's washington ideas festival. gore ander, al anne-marie slaughter. >> we have to banish the word "he's helping." helping is not actually taking the burden off you. you are still figuring out what needs to be done and you are asking him to help. he is not the agent, he is the assistant. if we are going to get to where we need to go, men do have to be

lead parents or fully equal coparents. >> go to c-span.org for our complete schedule. "washington journal" continues. host: authors week continues here on washington journal. we are joined by matthew green, associate professor of politics at catholic university and author of "underdog politics: the minority party in the u.s. house of representatives." thank you for being with us this morning. great power ofhe the minority in the u.s. senate. it is not so well known that the minority has power in the u.s. house. some: i was watching things in the minority party was doing in the 1990's and i was interested in how much energy they were putting into the things they were doing. it made me think, why is the

minority party putting energy into four procedures and protests on the floor when they are presumably powerless? that thingsear they're doing will make a difference as far as winning elections. that is what people my interest and i started going back and looking at history starting with the 1970's. looking at all the things the minority party doesn't house. -- it does in the house. host: you call the minority party the neglected stepchild of the house. and conventional wisdom follows the same logic, seems the minority party does not matter. in the senate, they can slow things down and filibuster a bill. there is an assumption that they don't matter. part of the goal of this book was to rectify that and say the minority party does matter and what they do is interesting.

host: the focus of the book -- you do go back in history -- your focus goes back to the minority parties beginning in the 1970's. , a look atrefresher who the minority party was, going back to 1971. job board from 1971-1994, republicans in the minority. from 1995-2006, the democrats are in the minority with the election of 1994. in 1995 -- 2007, republicans gain power again -- democrats gain power again. john boehner is the minority leader.

the election of 2010 change that and nancy pelosi has been the minority leader since 2011. is part of being in the minority a constant battle of wanting to be in the majority? youare always trying to -- have a dual role. a legislator and trying to get your party in the majority. exactly right. something we see now especially because competition for control of the house increased dramatically. when i started the book in the 1970's at a time when the republican minority cannot see a path to being in the majority, the democrats have a lock on the house, the republicans want to be in the majority, but they are not sure how to do it. they're focusing more on other things like policy, turn to get what policy outcomes they can. that starts to change in the early 1980's. fast-forward to now come in the

minority still cares about other things, policy, procedure, the presidency, their primary focus is how can we become the majority party. it is a lot more fun to be in the majority in the house. host: we welcome your calls and comments about the minority in power in the u.s. house in the year that has just happened in congress. 202-748-8000 four democrats. 202-748-8001 for republicans. all others, 202-748-8002. or send us a tweet. john boehner in the majority. his stepping down as speaker was driven by a minority of that majority in terms of the conservative caucus pressing forward with getting any speaker. i wanted to show you the comments of john boehner as he in october.ro [video clip] >> my, oh my, what a wonderful

day. i used to sing that on my way to work in the morning. my mission every day is to fight for a smaller, less costly and more countable government. advancedity has conservative reforms that will help our children and their children. it has become clear to me that this prolonged leadership turmoil would do irreparable harm to the institution. this morning, i informed my colleagues that i will resign from the speakership and resign from congress at the end of october. as you've often heard me say, this is not about me. it is about the people, about the institution. just yesterday, we witnessed the awesome sight of pope francis addressing the greatest legislative body in the world. heed hisat we will all

call to live by the golden rule. , i started thinking about this. this morning, i woke up and said today iss and decided the day i will do this. as simple as that. host: matthew green, a regular watcher of politics. what did you think? guest: i was quite surprised at first. i had no idea that he would be .esigning johnof the story here with boehner is about the minority within the majority party. the conservatives who have been unhappy with his leadership style. there is also a story here about the minority party. if you are a majority party in the house but you cannot keep it unified as the minority party, the minority has leverage. he has had difficulty getting legislation passed because he

cannot get the democrats to vote for it and he cannot muster a majority of his own party to vote for it. you've given some additional power and influence to the minority party. that's one of the themes of the book. unity is important for the minority party. host: they have the power over the summer when the appropriation bills were moving prepared. there was language about the confederate flag. democrats helped grind the deliberations to a halt. andt: there are techniques procedures the minority party in the house can use to slow things down. it doesn't get as much attention as the senate does because those techniques are used more often. offered a motion to adjourn, the house has to vote on those things and she offered a privileged motion having to do with the confederate flag. that brought up this issue.

there is ways the minority in the house can force issues onto the floor agenda and make the majority party have to respond to them. back at 40e looking plus years back to 1971. who has been the most effective minority in the last 44 years? guest: the most effective minority -- it is hard to say. periods, sometimes the party is very effective and sometimes is not. it depends on the circumstances. host: who may be president. guest: exactly. the republicans in the first years of obama's presidency were very good and using procedures to slow things down and bring things to the agenda. before that, the democrats were innovative. one person that stands out in the book for being the most influential would be newt gingrich. for: 202-748-8001

republicans, 202-748-8000 for democrats and all others, 202-748-8002. "underdog politics: the minority party in the u.s. house of representatives." matthew green is our guest. morgantown, west virginia. on that, go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to ask if professor green had looked at the actions of third party representatives in the house. guest: the short answer is no. there has not been that many in recent history. third parties were bigger, a bigger presence in the house in the early 20th century and 19 century. by the time this book started in the 1970's, almost everybody is in one of the two major parties. it is interesting that some have suggested that members of the freedom caucus could be considered something of a third-party. i do not think they are.

to the extent to which they have their own agenda, you have an interesting dynamic where you have a majority party that is not really a majority but plurality. they have to negotiate with the two other parties to get a majority coalition. host: do you have a follow-up question? marcus in whitehall, pennsylvania. democrats lied. caller: good morning, gentlemen. -- democrats line. got inen speaker pelosi , i sent a document to influential people and it was all about institutional dissemination. the ceiling that has never been broken. -- that isn 1960

what happened there. it is people that make history. about the caller talked presidents. i want to read a comment from part of your book where you are talking about ronald reagan. and therety parties leaders are likely to dedicate a good amount of effort to helping their same party president or presidential candidate. if reagan were not president, hootsuld not be worth two as a minority." was this a new tactic? guest: to some extent, yes. the use of the floor for messaging purposes got its start

in the late 70's, early 80's. it was republicans that initiated that. one thing that is important about the quote, everybody assumes the minority party cares about being in the majority. that is what matters most to them. but one of the important arguments i make in the book, presidential politics matter as well. while michael is feeling some pressure from members of his party -- we need reagan. we are republicans. we have to work together. that gives us more leverage and influence. host: you have a cartoon in your book about obama reaching out his hand right after the election. and a fist from house republicans. the most mileage from that seem to be mitch mcconnell. it worked well for democrats to

repeat that line over and over again. guest: there is a balancing act that minority parties have to play. they may disagree with the president of the opposite party. they don't feel an obligation to help him carry out his agenda. they don't want a reputation of being obstructionist. as we saw with mcconnell, that was used by democrats. you only care about partisan gameplaying. this is one of the delicate balancing act's that parties have to play with dealing with a president of the opposite party. host: send us a tweet. 202-748-8001 for republicans. 202-748-8000 for democrats. all others, 202-748-8002. this is joe in carrollton, virginia. independent line. caller: yes. weretened to what you saying this morning. i went to a form of a while back

where robert gates spoke. he made a comment that until to make votingd patriotically what was good for , nothing will change in congress. i find that to be very true and i still see it today. your comments on that, please. guest: the concluding chapter of the book is where i get on my soapbox a bit and talk about what this means for american democracy from my perspective. one of the arguments i make in the book is that we do need legislators to find ways to represent their party and their districts but at the same time, they need to do things that are good for the country and make congress work well. part of that means simply treating the minority party with some degree of respect.

and giving them opportunities to do thanks. that has not been the case the last several decades. it was a more open process in the 1970's. it is much harder for the minority party to do that. they do a lot of messaging, a lot of position taking, not necessarily helpful in terms of enacting good policy. host: are relationships between the two parties more partisan on the floor or in the committee? guest: definitely the floor has become a much more partisan place. committees, it varies tremendously from one chairman to another. where evennstances in today's congress, you have committees where there is bipartisanship. members are working together. you have committees that are not that way. it depends on who is the committee and to the chairman is

-- who the chairman is. you see more variation in committees than you do on the floor of the house. host: joel in california. independent line. caller: good morning. i background is like a rainbow color. need seniors who know life. senior citizens should be running government. they should come from , that the community voted for them to represent their community. it goes by the chain of command thistep up through that

government to be a politician, so we have to change all that, the underdog, that climate, mother nature, she is very underdog right now. appreciate all the religions to come together and respect and have responsibility. host: thank you for your call, joel. ann in portland, oregon. caller: good morning. i have a question. in the recent republican debate, it was mentioned that a lot of the politicians in washington are there because they are rs leopard that you think we would get some needed change and will decisions made for the benefit of the country if we had a limit to the house of representatives in congress?

say, six years? they would come from your life, go to washington, do their patriotic job, but for things that benefit the country and go back to real life after that? host: you are talking about term limits? caller: yeah. both in congress and the house of representatives. term limits is an issue that periodically comes up. it was particularly popular in the early 1990's when it appeared that the house and senate were dominated by democrats. and is still an issue people discussed that as a needed reform. on the other hand, what we've seen is a lot of turnover. a lot of members are therefore 6-8 years and lose.

happened isat has that we have seen increased change in who is in congress come in the house and senate and less dominance of certain members. that is still a reform that people discuss host:. next up is arnold host: in tennessee on the democrats line. caller: good morning. how are you this morning? up thed to just bring aspect of doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. loveo we get thou shall thy neighbor as thyself back in politics. how do we get morality back into politics? i've written a book. it is free. it is online.

it is called "divine of 9/11 intervention." it is a true story. rg. website is godislove.o the entire book is about how we get back to loving one another instead of using one another. host: a bit of what you talked earlier -- and the other comments? guest: one of the issues the founding fathers were concerned we haveow we ensure statesmen, people who care about the public good at large. bullet for silver solving that issue. thes worth looking at things that have been written, memoirs by older members of congress and biographies of our earlier leaders and seeing -- many of them were focused more narrowly than on the nation at

large. you see these older leaders have certain statesmanlike qualities. they were willing to say we lose today, but that is ok. i would rather do this because it is good for the country even if it hurts me politically. we get better governance when we have many folks like that in congress as possible. host: the passage of the spending bill a week ago, the headline in the washington post. the test of reince control over the caucus may come next year -- ryan's control over the caucus may come next you. [video clip] >> pray for a deeper understanding. 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 speaker. early in my life, i wanted to

serve this house. i thought this place was exhilarating because here, you can make a difference. if you had a good idea and worked hard, you can make it happen. you could improve people's lives. to me, the house of representatives represents what is best about america. the balance opportunity to do good. -- boundless opportunity to do good. let's be frank. the house is broken. we are not solving problems, we are adding to them. i'm not interested in laying blame. we are not settling scores. we are wiping the slate clean. host: in the context of your book, he said the house is broken. this was seen by many as a refreshing opening speech by the new speaker. different people may have read different things into it.

those unhappy with john boehner's leadership because he was not conservative enough might say this is someone who understands the house is not working properly. another had come in the minority party, you might say we need a person every one is listening to . power distributed more widely. it was an important and necessary speech to reset the clock on politics. host: what we know of his relationship with the minority party? hest: before he was speaker, may have had good relationships with members of both parties. forot a lot of attention his dinner with nancy pelosi. this harkens back to an older time when members of both parties have down and talk to each other. it speaks to the nature of the

political environment we're in. people say, how dare you. we are in a very partisan environment and it's hard for members to avoid feeling yousure from folks saying need to stick to the party line and not work with the other party. that makes it harder for minority parties. host: nathaniel in texas on our public life. -- republican line. caller: why are you also stuck up and don't want to help america people? you will do the job for us. host: bobby in urbana, illinois. emma crestline. -- democrats line. caller: happy christmas eve. what i would like to say, mr. greene -- dwight eisenhower was the only republican president than ever had a balanced budget for this nation. that is a proven fact.

his policy as a republican president bears similarity to that of today. he invested in the highways, construction that literally built this country. i wonder why the republican party could not go ahead and from the strategy for tax cuts for the rich and instead used the tax money like dwight eisenhower and invest it in the economy. politics have become very partisan. they have been partisan in congress for decades now. when the two parties are trying to work out a difficult problem relating to the budget, the

easiest way to solve it is to give everybody something. you have tax cuts, budget increase, spending increase and so forth. it is much easier to do those things than to cut funding and raise taxes. this is one of the reasons you often have problems with endemic deficits. it's easier to give folks what they want as opposed to balancing the budget. budget politics is very partisan. how you spend taxes, it's about priorities. people take this stuff very seriously. which makes it hard to reach agreements. classese your undergraduate and graduate? guest: correct. host: what you find is their knowledge about politics coming to your classes? guest: one thing i really enjoy about teaching here in washington is that you get

students who have a very high level of understanding about politics. some have been involved in politics. i have a student who interned at the state legislature. students who read politics websites, newspapers and watches c-span all the time. they come in with a pretty high basic knowledge of how it works. that makes it easier to teach here. now we can talk about history, theory, these things he may not be familiar with. host: a comment on twitter -- that is more of a comment for our last segment. then there is this -- we don't want to over exaggerate. sometimes we talk about the conflicts within the republican party.

there is some significant differences on policy and procedure within the republican party. this is historically speaking not new. completelyre not unified. you have diversely within the parties all the time. the lastappened several years, these differences have exacerbated and become public. host: is the message different vis-a-vis the president from when they were in the minority? guest: one of the things i was assuming when i did research for the book, people in the minority would talk about things differently than the majority. one minute speeches at the opening of the session of the house, members can talk about whatever they want for a minute. at samples of these to see their difference in what members are talking about in majority or minority. i assumed there would be a difference.

there was not paid the difference was whether or not your party has the white house or not. not, theyrty does talk much more about the president and the white house the democrats. the same before when they were in the minority. what you need to focus on come on what you think you need to focus on when you are a party in the house is the president if it is an opposite party president. host: you brought up one minute speeches. i have to point out a part of our c-span website. we actually tally how many have tallieders over the appeared i want to take a quick look at the 1/14 congress. -- 114 congress. i can switch this over to one

minute speeches and show the leaders of one minute speeches. there are a number of republicans who are the leading 87ple -- glenn thompson with , joe wilson, the leading democrats are sheila jackson lee and brian higgins. all of that on www.c-span.org. oregono to ron in salem, on our public alike. go ahead. -- our republican line. caller: just a question. total wives get paid also for their husbands being senators? did the significant others get paid? guest: if spouses are paid.

i don't believe they get a salary from the government. they have their own jobs. host: charles in arthur dale, west virginia. guest: good morning. caller: and what it. -- good morning. my thoughts about this congress and stuff, to try to straighten minority andhe lower party does not have a voice. if you had a speaker for both parties, have them bring something up to vote and then we or whichwhich person senator or congressman would not vote for it. whether it is a democrat or republican. there should be no meetings unless it is doors

recorded and show to the people. there's quite a few other things that have to be said. all of our presidential candidates speak a family and stuff. let's go with ted cruz. he does not want his kids to be seen on tv. yet, he has his commercial on tv about his kids. he is degrading the president of the united states and our senate and our congress, that is all they do is degrade him. they would actually help him come i think the country could work together to come out with a better outcome. important of the most powers the my georgia power has the house is agenda control. -- jordi power in the house is agenda control. in the houseower

is agenda control. starting in the mid-1970's when rules.t started using they are now quite restrictive. one thing that was interesting about the crisis in the republican leadership met members of the freedom caucus were saying we want reform. to of those, we would like have more open rules. we want bills to come to the floor and everyone can debate and people can offer amendments and people vote as they do. they wanted that opportunity. there was a possibility for some bipartisan coalition there. the minority power wants that power, to bank. -- too. if we at least have that open debate and let members vote as they wish, that makes every member feel they are serving their constituents.

it gives the minority a chance to be heard. host: rochester, new york. andrew on the republican line. caller: you were just talking about open rules. up here, we have louise slaughter she was the one that shut down the congress with her closed rules. she was the head of the rules committee. she really shut that thing down. nobody could bring anything to the floor. one of our biggest problems in this country is talk radio is trying to divide the republican party. we will become the minority party soon if they don't stop that. i wonder if you could speak to that. we have to get it together because we have a social security crisis coming down the road. comments in the book

about messaging and how the minority uses that. guest: messaging has become more important for the minority. at this stage, we've seen both parties in the majority as they have both done some of the things the color talked about. restricting the rights of the minority to offer amendments. lot fromve changed a the 1970's. one of them is talk radio, the internet. members of congress are hearing louder voices from places. .hey are more partisan that is the pressure members of congress did not feel 40 years ago. that affects what they do and how they do it. it can make it harder to reach the bipartisan agreement on more open rules and procedures that aller pointed out as an necessary. host: you write about newt

there wasaying nationalized messaging by notressional parties -- long after he entered the house, with otherin forces young conservatives to seek out new tactics and communication. -- in communication. is there anything parallel or similar today that democrats are trying to use in terms of the new way, a new form of messaging?

guest: absolutely. the theme of the book is how , because theyes are looking for something, are often the innovators. floor speeches were used in the early 1990's to get a message out, so to have democrats explored the use of social media, these of blogs. 2009licans before them in were starting to use them as well. are alwaysrties looking for something, some way they can get their message out that has not been used before. host: let's hear from new orleans. angela on our democrats line. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span and happy holidays to everyone. mentioningheard you

gerrymandering or limiting people's access to vote. it seems the majority now is really convinced the only way -- on the last turn out, there was one million more democrats than republicans. yet, we have a house of representatives that has a republican majority. can you explain this to me? guest: i will preface this by there's sobook is -- many things i could have talked about with respect to minority and party politics. i focus explicitly on the house of representatives. things like gerrymandering or district drawing is done by the states -- these things are outside their control or they are things they cannot control as readily as doing one minute for speeches. this is something political scientists have studied quite a bit. the evidence for gerrymandering

influencing party control is not as strong as people might think. if you control district's creed, you can only get so much out of that. creatively.istricts democrats are more concentrated. he tends to live in cities. republicans are living in suburbs and rural areas. if you draw a district with a city in it, it will have 90% democrats, that is not efficient use of democratic votes. you would have to draw creative districts to get those democrats to be spread out. it's as much where people choose to live than where district lines are drawn. host: "underdog politics: the minority party in the u.s. house of representatives" focusing on the minority in the u.s. house of representatives. 202-748-8001 for republicans.

202-748-8001 for them across. independents, 202-748-8002. matt on our republican line in new york. caller: good morning. if i look back over the presidents of my lifetime, reagan and bush had to deal with a democratic congress. they had good relationships. clinton dealt with gingrich and gingrich -- clinton takes credit for welfare reform. gingrich enforced it. bush allowed kennedy to co-author his signature domestic legislation. then, we have obama. obama came into up this -- into office. -- job he did

of advisorsa world and czars and we ultimately end -- i don'tudget here understand how it is mathematically possible that the budget can be passed with more democrat votes than republican votes and a republican congress. people wonder why donald trump and bernie sanders have such widespread support. guest: a couple of things there. one is this most recent budget agreement. you mentioned the votes cast for it. for the spending portion, 150 republicans voted for it. the is an example of how

minority party can have more leverage and influence when the majority party is more divided. there are other things going on here. had a filibuster in the senate. it makes it hard for republicans to get things they would like legislative late. -- legislatively. rhyaning that hampered was the democrats felt they were more unified. rosy at want to have too view of history compared to today. one interview i did for the book was with a republican staffer who served in the house and 9065. 1965. they felt completely shut out then, too. congressional politics is a numbers game. if you have the numbers, you are

tempted to pursue your agenda and leave the minority behind. not as if reagan and o'neill got along tremendously well. literature andme some writings about how well they did get along. there were a lot of differences between those two. o'neill and reagan often got into significant conflicts over policy. host: matthew green is our guest. comments on twitter. a direct question -- thingss been some written about the pledge and members of congress taking these pledges.

on the one hand, they are important because constituents need to know that their lawmakers are going to do what they are elected to do. keeping taxes low, cutting taxes and not raising them is a cornerstone of the republican party agenda. members been argued by of congress, those pledges can lock in members and they feel they have to follow the pledge. the danger there is we don't a government where members must do everything their constituents they. sometimes they may feel circumstances require them to do something their constituents may not like. they may be wrong and we can vote in the house. the pledge is lock-in members and keep them from inflexible. best from being flex will. -- flexible. host: grant on the republican line. caller: i have a few questions.

one was on gerrymandering and you got to that. can you briefly touch on the systems so you can have socially optimum, diverse districts and what kind of role that would play on the minority-majority partisan politics we see? or votingof reform systems, what kind of impact that would have? how that would play out in terms --the relationship those two guest: i have not studied voting reforms. this been some literature on that and it's an interesting that's other countries use different means of electing folks. you have local elections that one. always use 50% plus

those can lead to different political outcomes. perhaps better, perhaps worse. as far as technology with gerrymandering -- when i first started teaching about the u.s. congress some time ago, new technology was just coming into play. ways to draw districts. we have computer technology now that can do all caps of interesting things. one of my favorite stories, a wascrat in california instrumental in drawing creative districts for california. there's a stories of him with this paper all over his floor and he is on his hands and knees individual census data and tracks and trying to figure out how to draw this house and that house. everybody thought this was

crazy. everybody can do that in the comfort of their own home now. that can be very problematic. i like to show my students google earth. you can look at individual districts and see individual houses drawn in or out. why that house and not the south. you can conceivably use it to draw districts that might .chieve some other goals fairness, for instance. some students did this for virginia after the 2010 census. if you get this kind of outcome and that kind of outcome. it gives more flexibility for state legislators who want to draw districts that might make district more competitive or electrically republicans and democrats. -- elect more republicans and democrats. host: men who landed at gyro opter on white house lawn

plans to challenge wasserman schultz. man who landed gyro copter on white house lawn plans to challenge wasserman schultz. we go to hazard, kentucky. michael on the republican line. caller: i think our president is so out of line with what needs to be going on in this united states of america. he is wrong in all the policies he has got going right now. they've taken the vote away from the individual people and left it up to just a few majority of votee -- this electoral that takes the vote away from the american public.

this is wrong. this divides america. this does not bring america together. wrong, he is so out of line with everything he is doing. what a not understand loaf of bread costs. he ought to live in the coalfields. then he would understand where he gets his power from. host: hampton bay, new york. ann on the independent line. caller: hello? host: go ahead. i am nothe one thing hearing and i hope you can hear -- i hope you me can help me, social security has not had an increase from 2011. my husband worked for the federal government. he passed away in 2009. i continue to get his annuity.

every time social security does not give an increase, i don't get an increase. i know they are both federal. i don't see what annuity has to do with social security. i don't know if that is in your wheelhouse of expense. guest: social security has been the third rail of politics for some time. it's difficult for either party to do the things they would like to do. you couple that with the difficulty congress has had in legislating, it makes difficult to see the kinds of changes that a lot of people would like to see. touches on the residual effects of being in the minority. it strongc and spread identity as a minority party that translated into the

assertive and savvy use of maneuvers to trip up majority democrats. 40 years oflicans' strong identity. where do you think the democrats are in terms of their control of their minority status? hand, they arene better equipped than the majority was in 1995. of the 1994 election, i was working on capitol hill at the time. the one day you could tell what somebody's party affiliation was. if they were smiling, you knew they were republican. it took time for democrats to be adjusted this.

there was no one who had been in the minority. now, we've seen it switch back and forth. they understand what that is like and what they feel they need to do to be a majority. host: vivian is next in tennessee. democrats line. caller: good morning. to say thisg in congress is the most corrupt congress i've seen. i am 65 years old. everythingagainst from the president -- the republicans are hurting people. .hey cut out unemployment cut our program for the children, they want to privatize social security. all they want to do is war. they don't want gun control because they are making money

off of them. andblicans, independents democrats, get out there and vote. speaker ryan will need to democratic support on the spending bills. guest: he made. may. there will be policy differences. there will be conservatives and his party who won't agree with what the rest of the party wants to do. steps been taking initial that could alleviate those differences. what matters to members of congress is policy. but also what matters is do they have a say, an opportunity to participate in the legislative process. many folks in the freedom caucus got shut out and punished when they were defiant. if ryan can successfully bring them into the legislative process, he may be able to have a more unified majority party. carl on our republican

line in nebraska. caller: i tend to agree with a callercolors here desk -- a couple callers here. i'm sick of the republicans. they have no backbone. i even see a little bit on the computer now and then about how social security is going to run out and our illustrious and his defense ,ecretary running the rules social security is going to be in bad shape. they put it in the general fund back in lyndon b. johnson's time. host: what you hope people learn about the role of the minority in the house? guest: i hope they learned that it is more complicated than just hearing about being in the

majority again. the party cares about policy. it's not just about running for reelection. learn that it is a place for members of congress to be innovative and to be entrepreneurial. a lot of what congress does are because of the minority party, not just the majority party. host: the book is "underdog politics: the minority party in the u.s. house of representatives," our guest, matthew green, thanks for being with us this morning. guest: thank you. host: we have half an hour or so left on the "washington journal." asking you how your religion may impact your political views. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents. for more "washington journal" ahead.

announcer: this holiday weekend, "american history tv" on c-span3 has three days of future programming spared beginning friday evening, to mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of dwight eisenhower, his granddaughters gather for a rare family discussion at gettysburg college to talk about his military and political career, as well as his legacy and relevancy for 21st century americans. then on saturday afternoon, 60 years ago, rosa parks defied a city ordinance for blacks to leave the cities on a city bus to make room for white passengers. her stand helped instigate the montgomery bus boycott. we will see what role lawyers played in that protest and the

civil rights movement, as we hear from freddie gray, attorney for rosa parks, and demonstrators. at 6:00, william davis on the little-known aspects of the lives and leadership of ulysses s grant and robert ely. -- robert e lee. on in 1965 progress report nasa's projects, including the manned space program. and just before 9:00, writer and award-winning documentary filmmaker ric burns on how the public learns about history through television. allrican history tv," weekend, and on holidays, too, only on c-span3. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: for our last half hour here on "washington journal," we are going to ask you on this christmas eve about religion and

if and how it impacts your politics. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 745-8002 for independents and all others. somewhat not only by christmas eve, obviously, but an "rticle in the "washington post yesterday about president obama's faith. "the quiet impact of obama's christian faith." the have a poll looking at friendliness towards religion. this was a cold done by the pew research center. is the democrat or republican party and made towards religion? 47% ofy toward religion, the republican party is according to those surveyed. is of the democratic party favorable towards religion. that survey also looked at

democrats -- the views of voters. democrats win more support from less religious voters. sharemocratic candidates of a president about was among their identity identified their religion as no religion, 69%. done invey that was 2014. a question for you about how or if your religious views impact your politics. we start with president obama on a front-page piece yesterday in spokeashington post," he most notably the summer at the funeral service for reverend pickney and charleston, south carolina -- in charleston, south carolina. [video clip] amazing gracea: ♪ ♪ >> [applause] [cheering] president obama: ♪ how sweet the

sound ♪ saves our ranch like me -- saves a wrench like me ♪ once was lost ♪ but now amow -- found ♪ amazing grace ♪ ♪ president obama in june in charleston, s.c..

edward is first on our democrats line in the liverpool, texas. caller: hi. i was just thinking about it well you all were talking. it is kind of strange how we are supposed to keep church and state separate, and we do a very lousy job of it in politics. but i think now that we have grown up so much with signs, people really don't like science because of the things it says against the so-called bible or other bibles. learn more to keep the two separated, we would get a lot more done and waste a lot less money because everybody interprets the bible and these other bibles differently when they have been translated over all these years. people all the time start saying , no, this sentence means this. but nobody really knows who wrote it or why it was even given to us.

but these politics we have, these are for us to live by. when it comes down to our politics, we need to have engineers, not preachers, in congress. we need to have doctors, we need to have smart people, people who are highly educated. in aied it mix mythological book, everybody starts scratching their head. you grow all these different religions and all the different religions seem to be at each other's throats all the time. host: we go to columbia, south carolina and robert on our independent line. robert, hello. you are on the air. caller: good morning. merry christmas and happy new years to all. thank you to c-span.

really appreciate it and try to watch it as much as i can. as a 68-year-old, i am very persuaded that we have no lock on righteousness as individuals. so let's be tolerated. let's show love. let's try to understand and respect fellow humans. not just because we are superior, but because we are inferior to the extent that nobody is perfect, no religion is perfect. you hear me? host: i do. appreciate your call, robert. cindy is up next in texas, the independent line. caller: yes, i have voted democrat and i have voted republican. the last time i voted with democrats could i believe in god , and just the way i vote has not changed my beliefs. host: do you -- do you feel like

you can separate to our faith from your political views? caller: oh, yes. it says in the bible you are not supposed to involve politics. it states that in the bible. i cannot understand people believe obama is a muslim. and then they turn around and -- [indiscernible] -- twentysomething years. how can you go to church for 20 something years and still be a muslim? say only democrats have abortions, they believe in gay rights, that is like saying there is no gay republicans out to their and there is no one that is republican hasn abortion. it has nothing to do with the way you vote. the choices people make in life -- if you believe in god, you know, i don't think it has anything to do with the way you vote. host: president obama and his

family are on vacation in hawaii. yesterday, the president and first lady releasing a statement regarding persecuted christians worldwide. obama offers prayers for christians persecuted by isis. lamented" writes obama the persecution of christians worldwide, specifically by the islamic state in syria. in some areas of the middle east, this year the church bells will be silent. this year there's tragic witness to the brutal atrocities committed against these communities by isil. the president, writes "the hill," has often faced criticism from republican rivals for not doing enough to help christians being persecuted in the middle east, especially by radical muslim terrorists. sherman,alifornia,

democrats line. caller: hi, and thank you for taking my call. first of all, you have to understand, especially from a black pastor's point of view, is in thes no such thing separation of church and state when it comes to politics. we have to cap into which is going tohat address the needs of the people we serve. and a lot of us serve the moderate and low income. and i tap into what bernie sanders said about what his wife would do in the foster care system because we have a pandemic going on right now dealing with commercial sexual exploitation of children. one of the things that have to be revised in the foster care system is our kids being snatched out and being put into sex trafficking and things like

that. from a minister's point of view when i think about voting, i think about those type of issues. host: linda is next in arizona. republican line. linda, good morning. caller: good morning. yes, religion does affect my view on politics. and an evangelical lutheran a descendent of norwegian immigrants. when they came over, they were mostly democrat because they wanted people to have an equal chance to move up in this country. and now they have spread out all over the u.s. and done a lot of different things, but mostly the lca blueprints would be tolerant -- elca lutherans would be tolerant of others. even those who are acting holier than thou. i used to think i was republican, but i think i am moving towards the democrats, or

maybe the independents, because i feel the republicans are acting to haughty and to sell fresh it's. self-righteous. host: is part of that driven by your faith? caller: absolutely. the church would encourage tolerance and respect. and i'm saying that the party i have voted for is not giving that to other people. if you are not of their persuasion, they are going to put you down, use name-calling, bullying, not treating anybody very nicely except to those who are in their little arena. host: let's go to anderson, south carolina, the democrats line. fred, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. host: sure. caller: with regards to religion and political matters, i would say that it would have a great impact on my views for political

matters. number one, it gives me such a great understanding and a reverence for -- for political leaders. city, county, state, federal wise. and being a person who has lived in florida for many years and also being here in south carolina, i have learned quite a bit sitting in many commissioner meetings, working along the many of the local leaders in the community, and also being a person for almost 20 years now who has constant contact with laws that state leaders make. years now, over 20 but at the same time i have learned so much and have rate reverence for law, for leaders.

and part of that is because of my faith and understanding the bible. of course, there are some things we do not all agree upon when it comes down to church. but for the most part, i am grateful for government for order, for structure, and there has to be order, there has to be structure. all of the tough decisions they have to make, at the end of the day, the bottom line in their heart they should be able to lay down feeling they have made the best decision, not according to what most people think, but what is in their heart and what is right for every individual. host: thanks for your call, fred. checking some headlines. this is the "wall street journal ," celebrants around the world get into the christmas spirit. they also have an article about contacts with syrian u.s. contacts, saying the obama

administration pursued secret communications with elements of syria's regime over several years in an attempt to limit adolence and get president ass to relinquish power. the "wallwrite in street journal," the efforts reflect how president barack obama's administration has grappled to understand in an opaque middle east dictatorship. i will take a look at a headline this morning in be "washington an issue talked about earlier with fawn johnson on immigration. gop is as obama must apply stricter visa law to iran. writing that house republicans demanded this week that president obama apply strict visa travel rules to anyone who

visits iran and then tries to come to the u.s. republicans, in a letter led by kevin mccarthy and signed by key committee chairman, said they were shocked because they worked on the language of the law with the administration and none of mr. obama's aides raised any concerns. is anchorage, alaska on our republican line. asking this morning, how does or does your religion impact your political views? caller: good morning.

yes, it does. i am 71 years old. when i was 13 or 14, i was baptized shortly after my mother died. i do not participate in any organized church. voter,that as a frequent i have disagreements with candidates for whom i have voted and who are successfully elected. thatneral, i believe democratic's candidates -- democratic candidates do not think often enough about their personal faith and their understanding of church and state, and how those two things may come into conflict. in general, i find that republican candidates speak a great deal about their personal faith. and do not seem to understand that it may, into conflict with

their official duties if they are elected. host: here is david in oklahoma, good morning. david. hello. caller: hi. i was just calling to answer the question. i do believe that religion plays an important part in politics, in whatever politic branch. the reason being that because of the way you make decisions is pretty much based on your faith in what you believe. if we had a muslim president, i'm sure they would make decisions regarding on what they were brought up in in the muslim faith. and if we -- we supposedly have a christian president that said that his faith is what the let him. but if you are call -- if you recall when he first took office, his goal is to dismantle

christianity eye when he went up in front of the media and said we are not a christian state. he said we are a muslim country. host: kept trying to president obama said we are a muslim country? guest: -- caller: yes, when he first took office back in 2008, he came in and said we are not a christian state. we have more muslims here. it is a muslim country. i don't know if you guys can remember that. host: about 10 more minutes of your calls on religion and its impact on your political views. it is christmas eve, you may be driving. the average price for gas hovers around two dollars. next up is walter in florida. walter, go ahead. caller: good morning. host: morning. caller: in reference to the

to be the bible tells us aware of false teachings and false prophets. if a true christian is studying the bible, number one, they will know there is no such thing as a same-sex marriage. the bible already has established that marriage is between a man and a woman. number two, the glorified spiritual marriage in it church -- it glorifies spiritual marriage in a church. go to genesis -- i mean, to chapter, when0th there were nations against nations, and earthquakes in different places. study the bible, people. jesus is teaching you these things of love. in the 25th chapter, about

taking and strangers. get away from these false prophet teachers. host: looking for your comments on twitter, too. this one is from kim, though i am a christian, i vote for the death penalty though my church is against it. here is bob in stevens point, wisconsin. the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm a christian, and i believe fully in the bible's words as inspired by god; therefore, when god says no to homosexual unions , abortions, murder, rape, and so on, i vote that way. like obama, i voted against obama because he is a so-called christian but says it is ok for homosexuals to get married. i won't vote for any republican, democrat, liberal who goes

against god's word. and the lady who called about republicans are getting holier than thou, she is mistaken. we are just not ashamed of our christian faith. if we were under muslim control, homosexuals would be killed. so i think we christians are fairly able to live with nonbelievers as long as nonbelievers don't push their opinion on us either or take our religion away. thank you. host: thank you. next, the democrats nine, jason. caller: hi. impact on mya big political views. i belong to the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. i consider myself a christian. and it has impacted my life in a big way. at first, i would strongly republican, but having served a

church mission in southern outlook it changed my significantly by changing my career path and changing my educational pursuits whereas before i was going to become a tax lawyer because of my mission i really enjoyed working with inner-city urban youth, the most telling part of my mission, and that influenced me to become a health teacher. mean, in the bible or the book of mormon or whatever religious text, you can find scriptures that support a liberal viewpoint or a conservative viewpoint depending on other factors. host: jason, tell us again what you did your mission. caller: miami, florida. i was a spanish-speaking missionary. reallyt got me to

develop a strong respect for other cultures. groupe serving with a that was a different ethnic background, different religion, strong love for latinos and latino community, and immigration policies -- my views on that were very much affected by my mission. you know, i'm a big supporter of barack obama. really love a lot of the things he has done. michelle obama as well. amazing woman. host: thanks for joining the conversation this morning could you may have heard the discussion over this cartoon that was published in the "washington post" online, reaction, the post pulled it off line the other day. ews headline here, for cr post cartoon a gift that will

keep on giving. cruz, post cartoon a gift that will keep on giving. the "washington post" redacted

that yesterday. let's get a couple more calls on your views on how religion may impact your politics. in santa fe, new mexico, welcome. caller: good morning. how are you? host: fine, thanks. caller: thank you for allowing me to participate. is, i do believe that faith connected to political values. believe, ishough, i how to keep the language of each separate. so that i don't offend anyone of a different faith, although most faiths have these spiritual fruits, so to speak. kindness, charity, things like that. the language of how does a statesman apply these

-- theal truths statesman -- the quality of a good statesman and the words will have the authority or they won't have the authority. several instances have already brought up, and that is the instance of homosexual marriage. oracles of that in faith, that is not something that is acceptable; however, here it is, it is happening. i believe because the application of the translation content was not sufficiently made in the statesmanship level or quality of language sufficient to make it clear that this is something word-- is that the right

to become a mainstream element. host: we appreciate your call. one more here from westchester, new york, the democrats line. caller: hi. i am 89 years old. i have been interested in religion all my life. i had a dead who was probably agnostic, and he said every religion teaches brotherly love, and they will kill you to prove they can do it best. i wonder why do i keep going to church? i call myself a christian because i believe in what christ taught. i believe the bible was written by people whose life expectancy was maybe 15, 16, 20 years old. so of course it is all about procreation. i just think that in this day and age, we don't need to have

children born who are not welcome. and i think i'm much more interested in taking care of the children may have been wearing about, you know, abortion and stuff. i really am pro-choice, and that is one of the big reasons i am a democrat. not the biggest reasons, but one of the big reasons. i am a health prison. i believe that children are healthier when they are born to people who really wants them. host: thank you so much. that will wrap it up for this morning's program. take you for all your calls at comments this morning. we wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year. and we welcome you back tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern here on "washington journal." [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]