is legislation in congress to prosecutorsdent when there is a case of a police police officers and u.s. attorney prosecutors have to work so closely in many cases. good morning to you tom if you are our last on this conversation, what was your experience like. >> i wanted to say we're coming at this the wrong way. we are saying someone is guilty or not a somewhat we hear in the media but we cannot decide someone's guilt by hearing stuff in the media. the things we can do that is valuable and can contribute to is that we goress to the root of the problem. we can see why it begins and why is there so much violence on the streets. thethe reason is because violence is in our hearts and

minds all the time. we hear violence we see violence all showis why we violence in the first hint of aggression. religious figures or anybody who might say something helpful in this matter which is the violence we have in our hearts because of the hatred all around the world. host: i will leave it there, send we've in this headline which is out of chicago. many of you know there was another police shooting their and the mayor rahm emanuel is facing growing anger and he cut his vacation short to come back from cuba. partly in the wake of the police shooting over the weekend that claimed the lives of two people propping the city to improve its

response to calls involving mentally ill people. left the approval rating in the teens. he called for his resignation to become commonplace. responding with a flurry of public activity to make short-term changes in long-term promises. we will end the conversation for now. we will take a short break and when we come back we will meet with the congressional reporter for the huffington post about the obama administration agenda for the initiative expected in 2016 and later the roundtable discussion with two party strategists.

>> as 2015 reps up, c-span presents congress in in review, a look back at all of the newsmaking issues, debates and hearings that took center stage on capitol hill this year. join us thursday as we revisit mitch mcconnell taking his possession as majority leader. of house speaker john boehner and the election of paul ryan. the debate over the nuclear deal and the reaction from congress on mass shootings on gun control, terrorism and the rise of isis. congress, year in review on c-span. >> this new year's weekend, book tv brings you today's of nonfiction books and authors. karl rove, the former white house deputy chief of staff

looks at william mckinley's book , the triumph of william mckinley and why the election of 1896 still matters. mckinley's expansion of the republican base. >> the republican party has been beaten in the 1892 election. grover cleveland has come into office. mckinley has seen the country descend into a deep depression and republicans think the election is going to be theirs and he wants to be the nominee but is not the front runner. >> directly following afterward, join look tv as we attend a book party. be livethe author will with your calls, e-mails and texts. his books include his most

recent release as well as first in his class, a biography of the clinton, tell new to to shut up and barack obama, the story. today's of nonfiction books and authors on c-span2, television for serious readers. host:, welcome back here to talk about the year ahead in the last year for president obama. he said earlier this month that i have never been more optimistic about a year ahead that i am right now. why? bethey always say that to clear. there always very optimistic about where they are going but it is obama's last year in office. that is a big deal for him and you can tell that he has a skip

in his step. he has the weight off his shoulders of having to run another campaign or campaigning for other people. heis kind of a freeman and has been speaking out a lot more on things that he would not have if it were not his last year. how willingrised by he seems to go out there and push issues that may or may not happen. he seems energized and excited to get as much done as possible because you can tell he feels the clock running out on his time. >> because it is a presidential year,on year and his last he is not going to be pushing a very robust legislative plan. he will push a small package. i know some issues he plans to push his trade for example.

he's got bipartisan support so that is a biggie. there is also some criminal justice packages in the legislation that he can work with republicans on. those there are huge for his vision of what can pass with bipartisan support. he will also be pushing for some kind of bill to move prisoners from guantanamo bay cuba to a facility in united states. in terms ofe iffy getting it through congress because he had a lot of opposition for that. i think he will give it a push but it does not mean it will happen. >> there is a 2008 promise he made that he would close guantanamo and that the pentagon is also thwarting his effort. >> he's got into some scuffles on how to best handle the guantanamo issue.

they have consistently said they will put forward a plan. but there is only so much he can do without congress and he is kind of slow -- he has a veiled threat that he will find a way to close it himself. it's unclear how and if that's possible and if something like that did happen you can bet that some people in congress would be very upset, but some would say, good for you. laws and in between isn't the way you're supposed to process criminals and is arguably legal so good for you for acting when congress didn't. the trade promotion authority was passed and gave but now-track authority he has the pacific trade deal

with 12 other asian countries. his approval rating is below 50%. you have hillary clinton and marco rubio and ted cruz on the campaign trail saying they do not like this trade deal so what is the impact on getting this through in his last year? guest: at this point you have to separate the campaign trail from congress and the white house's plan with congress. people can say a lot of things on the campaign trail but they are not actually governing. when the rubber hits the road, it is if the white house can get obama to do something and on the trade deal he has strong supporters in congress willing to do something, mainly house speaker paul ryan. some democrats like trade deal so this is going to be less or marcolary clinton

rubio and more about obama working specifically with people in congress to pass a bill. a talkingt like point, this is something he this actually get done year if the momentum picks up in congress and there is a decent chance that it will. paul ryan was on meet the press recently and was asked about his relationship between himself and the president. >> is there anything that you and president obama could do together to lay the groundwork? have you thought about that? mostthink he is one of the polar resin presidents we have ever had. i think leadership matters. leaders can unify and leaders can polarize. >> so you guys are going to try to defund his signature health care law. for many progressives that is a polarizing move. >> it is a law that is not

working. it is making families pay double-digit premium increases. it is leading medicaid into a rationing scheme. >> but you understand that is just as polarizing as what you say president obama is doing. my point is, how do we get out of this cycle? >> i think we get out of this cycle by being positive, but offering a vision and offering solutions and focusing on what they do to make lives better and to appeal to what unifies us as a country and the people, we should not play identity politics as conservatives or liberals which is a political tactic that aims at speaking to people in ways that divide them from one another. host: what did you hear about working with the president in his last year? guest: i think paul ryan would like to try to get something done with the president. from a policy standpoint they

could not be much more different. but probably don't agree paul ryan has but signaled a certain openness to getting something done that i don't think john boehner really showed as much. that's a really good starting point for them. paul ryan said before that is something he is interested in terminal i think justice reforms are something i could see him getting on board with. whenever paul ryan signals he is willing to work on, it can bet the white house is like, we want to do that, too. time is running out on president obama. they are trying to pack in as much as they can between now and november and as the presidential election year runs out, congress this we stopped working at a certain point in a presidential election year anyway. we have five months of

legislating. whatever paul ryan once i think obama is a leaders. host: there was an editorial in usa today critical of how lawmakers can together in the end. what if congress loses interest, they say and they can talk through this massive bill and things that they added congress saying no one is getting serious about addressing that whether it is raising taxes are dealing with entitlement reform. what do you expect this year? guest: for starters, critics of the omnibus spending passage -- package that just passed are not factoring in the joy that lawmakers felt they actually got anything past. the fact they get the government running is where we are at. keep the government functioning, never mind deficit reduction. there is a big hurrah leaving

this year that we did it at the government is running. but for the coming year, there will be people talking about wanting to do something bigger on tax reform. something more substantial than we have seen and maybe there will be bits of movement here and there but all of this is happening in the context of a presidential election year and that changes everything. 100% ton shifts a lost the campaign trail. people are already thinking about 2016 of what if hillary ?linton is the next president republicans are thinking what if marco rubio is the president or donald trump? we want to set the stage for them. i'll think any major things like

tax reform -- i would be stunned if anything happened this year. host: we're speaking to jennifer bendery of the huffington post. what would you like to be on the president's congressional agenda for caller: am i on? host: you are. go ahead, robert. that -- hen you said about closing guantanamo bay, some people in congress would like it, and some people would not like it. that is the problem. us, not being together on the issue. that is what makes people like trump. it does matter. you democrats and liberals, all you want to do is brush everything under the table and make it sound good.

that is the reason we are going to vote for trump. get someone in there that is more -- i think the kids are being brainwashed. host: all right. so, donald trump impact on the agenda. guest: again, it is early. in his december 2015. we have almost a full year to go. you are seeing a lot of blustering on the campaign trail now. people talking big, laying out their thoughts. and terms of donald trump, he is leading the pack in the polls. it is not clear if he will be able to sustain that when it comes time to the caucuses and people are voting. he's early has affected the way people talk about things. he has pushed republicans in congress to the right. he has pushed them to be more extreme in the way they talk about things like syrian refugees or immigration or isis. has taken holdat

on the campaign trail has become so extreme that it inevitably has spilled over to the politicians in washington who want to be seen as on message with the people who are popular in the polls. donald trump, certainly, he has affected the rhetoric around washington. , a democrat, you are on next. caller: i think the president will have to continue to work, as he has done in the past seven years. he has been able to -- for, when he came into office, the country was losing 800,000 jobs a month. like 9.8.ieve, was the employment rate is up to 10% unemployment rate was up to 10%.

of course, the unemployment rate is now down to 5% and gdp is a plus. he will probably need to continue to do as he has been doing. republicans have no intention of working with him in the coming year. they will do absolutely nothing, like they have done in the past. host: jennifer bendery? guest: this caller has a good point. the e unemployment rate has dropped significantly since obama came into office. it is down to about 5% now. that is something that the white house regularly talks about -- by the way, we saved the economy and unemployment is much better. it is not as flashy as an issue as things like fights about planned parenthood or the affordable, some of the more hot button issues.

sounding,rt of dry but that is arguably one of the publishers.iggest he has stabilized the economy and can point to numbers. working with about republicans, there is some truth in that that some simply don't want to work with him. i think this year could be a little different in part because of his obama's last year, so he is looking for anything he can to work with republicans on at this point. speaker.aul ryan as he really is coming out it with a more fresh focus than his predecessor. he seems more open to try new things and letting his caucus speaking more than him just speaking and telling them where to go. i think there is a potential for something bipartisan. host: on climate change, president obama set out for that being part of his legacy, striking this deal in paris with more than 100 countries. what effort will republicans

make this year to try to undermine that? guest: well, republicans are not the biggest fans of doing a climate change bill. this year should be no different. i think the most we will see this year is president obama using his bully pulpit and using executive action to at least set the stage for where we need to go on climate change reforms. there was this major international deal reached recently. that is something that president obama is proud of and wants to build on, but he will not be here after november to do it. the next person to be president will have to pick up that ball .nd run with it for now, he will emphasize the importance of climate change, which should be important to everybody because the planet will melt down eventually. he will be speaking out on that issue more than he will be working with congress actually

pass the bill on that. i don't think that will happen. guest: what about the fight against isis? congress tolled for debate a new authorization of military force. the president said, i artie sent out language, now the onus is on something.w somet draft guest: that is a great topic. at this point, we have been bombing isis with no new work authorization passed. you have a congress criticizing the present strategy -- president's strategy, while they themselves will not war.orize the bottom line is they are too scared. they don't want to take a tough vote that could come back and haunt them if the war goes all

awry. think whatid, i theld happen this year is -- key person to watch if paul ryan, again. the president is at the point where he is saying, please, congress, this vote -- give me a fresh war authorization so we know we are on the same page with what we are doing. we has begun ryan, boehner saying, we don't need to do that, we already have an old, old war authorization that we can keep using. host: republicans also saying, we do not know what the present strategy is -- president's strategy is. we will not authorize more when he is not articulating. guest: that is true. that is what many of them say. yet, they are funding the war which is already underway, already happening, they just get

the part where you are supposed to off the resident. it is a bizarre situation where they will not vote on the war, as if the war is not already happening. i think the bottom line -- this is not a partisan issue. there are republicans and democrats that are very upset about this. they believe that we need to pass another war authorization. i think the key person to watch again this year is paul ryan. paul ryan seems to be of the mindset that he wants his caucus partyde where the is going. there are number of republican saying, speaker ryan, we want to vote and debate on what the parameters of this war should do that., let us i think he is saying, that is a good idea. he has already set up listening sessions for members to come together and talk about it for themselves. if paul ryan is on board with

scheduling a vote with the new war authorization, president obama is certainly pushing for that. the only problem now is the senate. mitch mcconnell and harry reid has basically said, we are not interested in doing this. but, if you have the white house pushing and paul ryan and democrats pushing it in the house, this year could be surprisingly a year with action do have a debate and a vote on a war authorization. the key percent to watch is paul ryan. host: we have some tough reelection races in the senate and the center for grabs. guest: that's right. there's a real risk for republicans this time around. if you have a bunch of vulnerable -- at least a handful affordable republicans in the senate coming up in 2016, they do not want to be taking a tough

vote about war that could affect their campaigns. unfortunately, something as important as voting to declare war could get sidelined because of a reelection campaign. that is the main reason why mitch mcconnell nor harry reid want to push this issue to the front in the next year. they would rather just let it stay to the side, fund the war without ever debating it. paul ryan sounds interested. that is new and exciting for people who care about this issue. host: we will go to mississippi, an independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for c-span. for the next year or so, it will be more or less the same on congress aside, the president

's side until the nation as a whole can come together, it will not change. we are the ones putting the people in office. taking the big money, taking advantage of people who are to keep the wages where they need them, not where the working class needs them. host: a distrust of congress, obviously going what we are seeing in polls -- not very high approval ratings for lawmakers. guest: that has kind of always been the case. congress does not usually poll well. 12% exactly high, believe it or actually high, believe or not. it is such a large group of people with a mix of opinions, and you see people fighting all the time. why would you tell a pollster

that you love congress? you don't feel represented, and you just see bickering. host: olivia, alabama, a democrat. caller: president obama, and the year ahead, he really don't have to do a lot of anything because i think in this lame duck .ession he has done a lot the greatest a-- coalition president obama could have done was obamacare, however anyone wants to term it. if you don't have health care, you have persons in your family that suffer with cancer, and they don't have insurance, and they have to go to be emergency don't care what anyone has to say, it is not president obama make your payments go out, it is on the doctors. it is the hospitals.

not him. host: ok. jennifer bendery? guest: i think this caller makes a very good point that president obama's signature accomplishment is his signature health care law. it is called obamacare. he can walk away from this presidency with that. that is hands down when he is most proud of. it is not over yet just because he became law. votebody has seen congress -- how many times? they voted on pieces of legislation that would repeal parts of the law versus the whole thing. it has been a nonstop effort to chip away at this law ever since it passed. i think a huge priority for obama in his last year is to try to protect it, prevent congress from chipping away at it.

up to 8 million people now are enrolled. if you point to the numbers, and show that people are actually signed up, getting health care, who never had it before, who could not afford it -- he will talk about that all year. once he is gone, he has to leave his baby with the next president and congress, and that is obviously something that he is worried about saving. host: we will go to new york, a republican. justr: yes, jennifer, i heard the previous color talk about how everybody loves obamacare, and if you have cancer, you have to go to the emergency room if you don't have insurance. weeks ago, ialf was diagnosed with stage four cancer. i have been in four hospitals and every person from the check-in staff to the operating asked and doctors -- i

what they thought about obamacare, and said it is terrible. i swear to god, without exception. you think this is good for our health care system? of it, andthe middle i'm lucky because i was able to cancerto find out i had without having to wait until february 14, which is my first scheduled appointment. if that had been me at the v.a., i would be dead by then. host: i'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. can you tell us about the nurses and doctors, what they said specifically? caller: they said it is absolutely terrible, every aspect of it. they have problems with the that make itcords impossible to finalize their records without getting an actual signed release form to

change testing from people who have no intention of ever responding to them. then, they spend their wheels, and try to deal with that. as healthcts, such care portals and other aspects like that are working wonderfully. i know because my wife is a practice administrator of the surgical institute in new york state. everything about obamacare is not working and bad for the patient and doctor. there are democrats who have conceded, there are fixes that need to be made to the what is the likelihood that they come together and agree on some fixes. guest: if you have changes that people want to make in both parties -- this is a massive, massive law. if there are people interested

in making changes, that could happen. don'ticans, many of them like this law, and have tried to chip away with it ever since it became law. the problem is it is law. you have millions of people who are getting care as a result. some people don't like it, some people really do like it. this is a huge problem for the republican party, for presidential candidates who complain about it. if you don't like it and want to get rid of it, there's a lot of talk about repeal and replace. you hear that all in time. they don't have an alternative. now, we at the point where if you did away with the afford look at tomorrow -- which you cap, but let's say you could -- there is nothing there filling the void, and you end up kicking millions of people off health

care, which in many cases it is better for them, or they never had care before. there are pieces of this that have benefited people. what do you do instead? that is the question for people who criticize it on capitol hill and for residents of candidates -- for presidential candidates. no one has laid out an alternative. new: we will go down to jersey. caller: i am kind of hoping that save will push congress to social security and the disability part of it. jersey -- ere in new the insurance company said no, they will not pay for an mri. obamacare has to get fixed somehow. hopefully they fix the disability part of it. i really don't like them saying, no, the money is stolen and it

is gone. host: we will go next to bill, pennsylvania, a democrat. caller: i just want to wait in a little bit about the president. where we were seven years ago, the devastation the country was up against. since the improvements done over the last seven years, without .ny help from the congress as far as the affordable care act, my brother went under the afford look at because he had cancer also. he lost his insurance because the company went out of business. he was able to get insurance and be treated for his cancer at an affordable rate. without the president, he would've had a pre-existing condition and would have been uninsured, and it would've been a terrible outcome.

with congress,rk he will have to do some actions to keep the country moving forward. guest: one area to watch for is can control. -- gun control. actions onely have this. he already has. he passed actions after the new town shootings. .ongress has not done a thing what can he do? he has one year left. this is a huge concern for this country. think as soon as january, we can expect to see something big, out of the white house.

it is an executive action. that does not have the clout of legislation. it can only affect federal government institutions, federal contractors. there is one issue that comes to dod right now that he could effective action on, and that is in current law, there is no definition of -- i think it is a mass gun seller. hillary clinton made an issue of this on the campaign trail. i think in january the president will probably take executive action on that point, which is one area he has not touched on yet. what could he do on

immigration? could this go to the supreme court? his action on immigration was put to a halt by the court? do you expect us to go all the way to the supreme court? guest: i'm not sure it will. these things take years to play out. they go through various courts and bounce around. at this point, that thing is still out there. .he immigration legal case it could. that is a very hot button issue. it has been bouncing around ever since he instituted the executive action. at this point, i would not be surprised. the supreme court has agreed to take it on. host: we will next in florida, democrat. caller: good morning. a previous caller complained about obamacare. i noticed he mentioned his wife worked in administrative section of the hospital.

there are a lot of doctors that have their own diagnostic labs. that is a big conflict of interests. i've had experience with that. obama has always said there is a second part of obamacare that he will go after. that is the high cost of insurance companies, the pharmaceutical drugs, and the cost of doctors and hospitals. eightobama took over -- years of george w. bush, it was a dead zone. i wrote an editorial to our challengednd i republicans to name one positive thing that bush did for america. no one ever gave one. host: we will go on to new jersey, and independent. caller: hello? host: you are on the air. caller: thank you so much. thent to thank administration for taking care

of muslims. i want to advise him to read -- host: we are listening. what did you say? i think we lost him. he thanked this country for taking care of muslims. the president weighing in on that of course after the syrian to come were here. what do you make of the effort? what is to come? there was aa has -- pretty silly argument going on on capitol hill about letting syrian refugees come to the united states because people were worried about isis infiltrating and sneaking in with them. because of the attack in san bernardino, california, it heightened fears on the subject. at the same time, we have refugees fleeing syria with no place to go. the reality is there is a visa

waiver program that has become the focal point of what can be done to help refugees but not block all muslims from coming in the country, which is what donald trump is saying, and various other republican presidential candidates by going echoing similar things. you cannot just say, all muslims cannot come in the country because there was a guy in california who -- two people in california who attacked some people. one of them was radicalized. at first, seems like they weren't jumping on the bandwagon with a more extreme view of this and affected by donald trumps rhetoric, but they came back around again and took action on something with visa

waivers. i do not know the specifics of the program, by know that is considered -- but i know that is considered the better focus. if you want to crack down on the immigration system, that is the program where we should really focus. the: less stringent than process for refugees. new york, david, a republican. caller: yes, good morning. i have a statement and a question for jennifer. i wanted to know about the affordable care act. it was not floated in on the republican side. fixesave been developing and having them to the senate where harry reid did not bring them up to a vote. i believe the democratic party has been trying to mislead the public.

if you're making $60,000 a year, or just over that, the deductibles are very high, the cost is very high. host: jennifer bendery? guest: again, the affordable care act is a massive, massive program. some people have praise for it, some people don't. it is the law. for all the debate about it, it is law, and has been law for .ears this caller is correct, everything will republican voted against this bill. it was honestly not a bipartisan effort. the problem is there is no alternative. when you have millions of people getting health care through this program, and many are happy with the because they did not have all, it is it at difficult to think about, what do we do now? you cannot get rid of it

entirely because then people .ose their health care if anybody could come up with an alternative proposal in congress, then i think maybe the criticism of the informal care act would be taken more seriously on capitol hill. for now, it is just a topic that you see people voting on. it is symbolically only to say, we do not like this, we will vote on it for the 55th time to repeal it. they have to come up with something else to have much credibility. host: what about the role that president obama will play in trying to get a democrat elected? guest: again, it is his last year in office. he is feeling liberated, but also ansi. he wants to melt is for everything he can -- to milk this for everything he can. i think he will be out there helping whoever the democratic candidate is whether it is hillary clinton, bernie sanders.

beyond that, if you have senators -- democrats in tight raises that would benefit from president obama coming to their state and saying how great they are, maybe he would do that. some house races -- he will hop on his plane and find some way to get there. .gain, this is his last year you can see it, he is feeling his time run out. he is looking around and saying, i have to get something done before i'm gone. i have to finish up my legacy. .ost: more to come jennifer bendery from "the huffington post." appreciate you being here. 2016. up, we will turn to we will be right back. ♪

weekend, theear's tv brings you three days of nonfiction books and authors. on new year's day, encore presentations of "in-depth." tom hartman on his life and career and his response to viewers calls and questions. at 10:00 eastern, economist walter williams. his most recent book is "american contempt for liberty." saturday evening at 10:00 ds,"ern on "afterwor karl rove looks at william mckinley in his new book, "the triumph of william mckinley: why the election of 1896 still

matters." therove is interviewed by senior editor of national review magazine. republican party has been beaten, william ,ckinley has come into office and the republicans think that i six will bef 18 theirs. he wants to be the nominee, but he is not the front runner. he is not the favor of the party bosses. >> at 11:00 eastern, join booktv as we attend a book party for karl rove. sunday, david marinus will be .ive for your calls weekend.is new year's

three days of nonfiction books and authors on c-span two. television for serious readers. this new year's weekend, american history tv on c-span 3 has three days of future programming. beginning friday afternoon at hillla smith, smith hill discusses the life of lord ingalls wilder -- laura ingalls wilder. i wrote about people, places, and memories. as reviewers have pointed out, pioneer girl contains stark scenes of domestic abuse, love aiangles that go awry, and man who let himself on fire,

drunk on whiskey. then, mr. swanson discusses abraham lincoln. then, the meet the press .nterview with daniel monahan >> i believe what president johnson said in his howard university speech. chainsnot keep a man in for three centuries, take the chains off him, and say, you are free to live your life as anyone else. people have to be given the i believe we-- should make a special effort. >> sunday night at 9:30, a visit to pershing park in washington, d.c. to hear about proposed isigns for a new world war

memorial for its upcoming 100 university. for complete schedule go to c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back this morning with two consultants to talk 2016. liz chadderdon and phillip for thethank you both conversation. we are a couple of weeks away from iowa. what will happen in the first caucus state? guest: first of all, i can't wait for i went to get here. i think most people feel that way. the truth is we don't know what will happen, at least on the republican side. i think we have a pretty clear idea that hillary will win iowa, the question is by how much. i think she will be the democratic nominee. i like senator sanders, by don't

see him having the organization, background, and frankly, the ability to get people to the caucus in iowa, which is not an easy thing to do. hillary has been working on this sense 2007. shi think she will be the winner in iowa and the nominee. why doesn't matter by how much? isshe blows it out, if it 80%, i think you will see support for senator sanders to begin to dwindle. however, if it is 40% or even remember, iowa is not a .raditional election if he really makes a strong showing in iowa, we may have a raise on our hands. the infrastructure needs in iowa, to get people to the caucuses on caucus night is not as easy as it looks. if you shows up with 40%-40 5% of the vote, we could have a race on our hands.

host: phillip stutts, a little .ore difficult for you donald trump seems to be ahead. looks to be like he is ahead in iowa. what is going on? guest: most of the news media, -- rts on national polling people are quick to say that it is not national polls that matter, it is iowa, new hampshire. who comes out of iowa with momentum and new hampshire, and who comes into the south was momentum, that is really the key . 12you would have asked me to years ago who was going to win the primary, i would have said howard dean, but carrie came up and one.came up trump is polling well in iowa,

but this made a good point, it is hard to get people to caucus .n february 1 no one is as organized as ted cruz and no one has the support grassroots on the level. this next month will be crazy. there will be so much money spent. now that cruz is rising, you will see people go after him. if trump start spending money -- which i still debate if you will, or how much he will -- it will be a free-for-all for the next month. in line atave to be 7:00 p.m. to participate in the caucus. it could take one hour or longer. it's not like you can go vote at any time during the day. you have to be willing

to participate and show up at that point. when it comes to the caucus, how iowans in the past have shown up to do a? guest: i believe -- correct me if i'm wrong -- in the 2008 democratic caucus, it is the largest caucus attendance to date. i believe it was only about 25% of the electorate -- potential electorate. it is not that many people overall. were: i think there 240,000 caucus-goers on the democratic side in 2008. romney got about -- not romney, but there were 20 100,000 caucus-goers four years ago. that was the largest number they had ever had. the bush campaign is predicting 0,000. this ye

in 2000, george bush got 88,000 caucus-goers in that election. you can see, there is a trend going up. with so many candidates in iowa this year, there will be so many driving the turnout. hostguest: the chaos of the iowa in theis what happened room. as you pointed out, they have to be in line at 7:00 on february 1. it could be negative five degrees and i went. they have to be there. churches,be in gymnasiums, maybe somebody's .iving room they're locked in that room from the moment they enter. they locked the doors when the time is right. i think at 8:00 p.m., and no one

is allowed to leave until the caucus is finished. chaos then real starts because there are some a candidates on the republican side. let us assume, for the purpose of this discussion, that there are 20 oh in a caucus somewhere -- 20 people in a caucus somewhere in iowa. on the first round, you have to reach a certain threshold for a candidate. what happens if no one reaches a threshold? all of a sudden, the people in that room get released as , in that room, can be assigned themselves to another candidate. no one knows what will happen before then. i will tell you from the 2008 situation, that is where obama it.

the obama campaign cut deals with edwards' candidate saying that if edwards was not a viable candidate, after the first round voting, those candidates would then go to obama. this could go on for hours. we may not know for two days. host: of course, our cameras will be there to give viewers a view of what is going on in these rooms. let's talk about new hampshire. you have the "union leader" with this editorial from the other day -- the chum campaign voters' intelligence. donald trump has responded. i want to show the viewers what he had to say yesterday in new hampshire. [video clip] >> we had an interesting thing. you have a very dishonest newspaper here. a failing newspaper, it has been

if theyown the tube -- cut it down anymore, you won't be able to find it. youlooks like the things -- know, when you go to the grocery store, and they give you a handout, what do you call that? coupons? mcquaid.is named joe he is a lowlife, i'm telling you. host: the publisher, joe mcquaid, comes out against him. endorsederver has chris christie before this. what do you think of this strategy? change theeems to rules on everything that people think should happen. i tend to think that he is news. to make there is a pattern, when other candidates get a little momentum

he starteda state -- attacking cristy last night because he has gotten a lot of momentum in new hampshire. well a usually tell how candidate has done by how many of us they have done in a state. kristi has done 130 events in new hampshire. now, you see trump go after .hristie now, he is going after "the union leader." he is on the front page of every article. that is his strategy. there is a pattern. he says something outlandish, the news media reports on it, he is number one in the news and the people making some rise, kind of stuff. i do think there is a base of

support for truck. i don't think he will win iowa, by do think -- we have a big, big group of candidates in new hampshire. jeb bush will not drop out, chris christie will not drop out. when you have all of those votes spread out, it gives donald trump a chance. if you does not win iowa, he does not win new hampshire, he comes to the cells with total loss of all momentum, and looks like a third-rate candidate at that point because the media will be focusing on other people. new hampshire is really a battleground for trump. host: donald trump going after bill clinton, sending out some tweets. hillary clinton has announced her husband let joined the campaign.

ruth marcus, in her column today for "washington post" says that trump is right, bill clinton is fair game. clinton is correct using current husband as a campaign surrogate. one, at thisk no point in america, should be surprised that donald trump has barged through any doors. watching the footage from new it, iire -- i have to do don't like donald trump, i won't vote for him, by kind of admire stand trump's ability to up in front of any camera he can find and make fun of, tear down, leaders from across this

country. every time he does it, people follow him. there is absolutely an antiestablishment fervor running through the trunk campaign. joeasked, i attacking mcquade in new hampshire, doesn't help him? i think it does. he is part of the new hampshire political establishment. does it help get people to the polls in new hampshire? that remains to be seen. just because people show up to a rally does not mean they will orw up to a caucus in iowa new hampshire. we are waiting to see. trump, i am see personally appalled as an american and the democrat, but as a communications consultant, i secretly blown away by his ability to throw caution through the wind, barged through the doors, and called out anybody from bill clinton, joe mcquaid, ted cruz, and gain media by doing it.rage

why don't like him, i have to admire his style sometimes. host: we will go to michael, an independent. bi listen, i'm a social liberal, a fiscal conservative. i voted for obama in 2008. i'm voting for truck. i will write him in when he runs. what your guests are missing is this whole primary system is igged. re general election is igged -- not that they steal votes, but they influence weak minded people of this country. trump -- it is more than antiestablishment. those of us know that the republican party caters to the

rich and the democratic party caters to minorities, foreign immigrants, and everything else. there is a hopeful of us -- a whole pool of us left in the middle. guest: i tend to disagree with this. i don't disagree that trump has tapped into something different and angst in america against wha the way things are going in washington and the political parties. there is no way that someone who cannot articulate a point -- which trump cannot do -- can do upething but d voters. i have not seen him articulate a policy point that goes beyond two sentences. host: "the financial times close

trump'smorning -- attacks raise eyebrows on wall street. we will go to donna in new jersey, a democrat. caller: guest. host: you are on the air. caller: excuse me? host: your question or comment. we have to move on. stephen, indiana. caller: good morning, everybody. i tell you what, liz, you will like this. trump will go independent, i guarantee it. he is too big of an eagle manning -- an egomaniac when he starts losing iowa and new hampshire. anyways, it is game, set, match point for democrats. charlest's move on to

in michigan, independent. caller: i just wonder about the theory of house speaker boehner resigning, and now they .ave paul ryan in there with the republican establishment really not wanting trump in there. there will not be a conclusion with the rest of the candidates. the republicans are going to broker paul ryan to be their presidential candidate. i will have you go first on this idea that trump will run as independent candidate. guest: i think the last thing that republicans need is one fore person running president. i do not see paul ryan coming into this. a brokered convention --

iskerage convention legitimate. it is like baseball, the es we play by. hillary went on way to south way to-- went all the south dakota. i believe that by the time we get halfway through the process, you will see the field whittled 4-5.to it is expensive, it is hard to keep people on payroll. literally, running a present of presidential campaign is like running a multimillion dollar corporation. you have to pay salaries every two weeks. i do not see this going all the way to the end, to july with 13 people. i really think you will see at least the field whittled down to

2, 3, 4. will trump the one of them? runningck to him as an independent. i don't know. maybe. if his voters, and this fervor that is behind folks showing up if they showes -- up and cast a vote, he may still be in the mix. that could be fascinating. let's say he's not. i think he could run as an independent? i do. will he threw it to hillary? probably. how do i know? again, i don't have a chris the ball, but the likelihood that he 5-10%n and ran and took of the vote, it would make it very hard for any nominee to get the votes to win the election. host: let me show you this headline. field could shrink to six

candidates. guest: i do not have a crystal ball, but i have a crystal brain in this sense. running for president is the most humiliating thing you could do. you have to call and ask people for money all the time. you have to be told by your friends, i will send a check, and then they don't send a check . you have to go on press and be criticized constantly. you are humiliated on a constant basis. a lot of these candidates have brought before and know how the system works. trump has never run before. no one has ever said a lot of negative things about him. although he is raising money, he is -- he is not raising money, he is being attacked every single day. his ego is not used to that. if he does not win new

hampshire, i think his eagle ego will say, i can run in the independent party. if he is making headlines, he is not spending money either. let's talk about other candidates. if ted cruz wins -- marco rubio with trey this week gowdy. what do you think marco rubio's strategy is here, bringing trey gowdy in? guest: trey gowdy is looked at as a straight shooter and the republican base likes what he stands for. his organization is not as great in iowa, not as great as others.

i think he is saying, why should i make a run to the top now? i could lay low and build momentum. i think his strategy is to hang back and make a run in the last few weeks. host: with southern states? guest: i think he is tried to do well enough in iowa and new hampshire to make it to the southern states. he has a good organization in south carolina. then, it is on to the southern primary. he is definitely, i would say that most viable candidate for hillary. going against polling -- i'm not making this up. i think liz would agree, that is one candidate that democrats really fear against the hillary candidacy. they have some work to do. uz is so well-established

in iowa, and others in new hampshire. host: let me go to buck in maryland. caller: how are you doing? host: good morning. caller: i was just calling to liz a comment to liz trotte chadderdon -- she just made a statement about donald trump. i would like someone to ask her about hillary clinton. is she embarrassed to be in the ,ame room as hillary clinton one of the biggest liars in the united states? let's take the sentiment. there is a trust factor with hillary clinton. polls have shown that she does not do well when asked wit about her trustworthiness. guest: first of all, i would

love to be in the same room as donald trump to watch the in person. i have been in the room with hillary clinton, and think she is a fantastic woman. you are right, she has trust issues with the american public, and even in the democratic party. she has already put herself out there. for those of us involved in the 2008 primary, it was civil war. it was brother on brother. 18 million people who voted for hillary clinton in 2008 have been waiting eight years to vote for her again. they are all coming back. that is why i am pretty sure she will be the nominee. that is the thing about her trust factor. 99% of the american people have already decided if they like or don't like hillary clinton. people have decided if they like her, don't like her, trust her,

don't trust her. the truth is we have moved on. i think what is happening is we see her as a very strong, capable, experienced leader who will also be a very caring leader. if you have strength and carrying and not trust, can you still win? yes, i believe she can. part of the question is who she faces. does she face of republican candidate who can win the trust factor? -- could become host: do you agree? guest: i have made it clear that i'm not the biggest donald trump supporter. the only one who can really change the narrative is donald trump with his attacks recently. everybody was saying that jeb bush would be prolific. said low energy,

and he has never recovered. he has laid the narrative on marco rubio, now chris christie. what is ironic is hillary was trump's wedding,o and attended it. host: herbert from georgia, democrat. welcome to the conversation. though ahead. -- go ahead. caller: good morning. i'm a 65-year-old black veteran. let me tell you something. becauserump to win it hillary will win it. theant rubio and cruz -- cuban neighborhood is different from the spanish. you go to the puerto rican people knowd --

about the >> they would be a shoe in. one thing about the democratic .arty, obama knows how to win republicans have the wrong black people representing in their party. they can't get the votes. the oneshan, those are to get the black votes. the mexican votes, castro as a running mate? i guarantee we will win the election. host: let's talk about that. what donald trump has said about immigrants, mexicans coming to the country. party after 2012 one mitt romney did not win -- president obama 70% of the

hispanic vote. republican party said we need to change this. guest: i would say -- this is maybe my thinking pre-trump, but look at our candidates on the ballot this year, even the ones who have dropped out. hispanics, an african-american, and a female ceo which is rare. the democrats have old white people on the ballot. we have a diverse ballot right now. and an african-american with ben carson. that is a diverse look of the republican party. i am proud of that. i thought it would be much more formidable before trump, but trump has come in insect the oxygen out of the air as far as how we grow our party from the hispanic perspective, the african-american perspective. it is a challenge for us right now. frankly, -- host: brian in a scholar, michigan, an independent. that last part that you

just said, that is where you have it wrong. if you are worried about the party, they should be representing everyone. don't narrow it down to mexicans, blacks, whites, that other stuff. the major point is neither party wants donald trump in their because it shows that you don't have to be beholden to lobbyists. that is what we need. money fromot taking special interests who expect something for me. is that gaining traction within the electorate? guest: i don't think it is, at least not right now. as we move forward to the process, it may gain a little more traction, but the primary process on the republican and democratic side is a ready -- i

hate to say inside her, but it really is. it is an insider process. anyone can participate as a registered voter in-- states. those people who participate are ideological, party going, establishment type voters. they are past the special interest message. that is a message that resonates a the general election with general electorate, more independence like the gentleman who just called. we are not there. do i think the donald trump financing his own campaign could be a message for him if he runs as an independent? yes. in the republican primary, i don't think it gets him anywhere. guest: he lobbies himself to give a lot of money to democrats, nancy pelosi, hillary clinton. he has given money in a way that is lobbying in and of itself. it is a critical of him to say that. i understand his point and it is resonating, but every stance that donald trump has has been hypocritical. this is one of them. host: michelle in minneapolis, a

republican. caller: thank you for c-span. there is so much here i don't know where to start. you mentioned the democrats apparently have decided they trust hillary. i disagree. i have listened to c-span for a long time. they know she line. she is dishonest. they don't care. they will vote for the party no matter if it is mickey mouse. the problem is that the republicans have to get to their heads that they cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. you can fight on who your candidate in the primary is, but one set candidate is chosen, you better go out and vote for the party because every time -- i have family members who thought mitt romney was not christian enough or too wealthy so they didn't vote your when a person doesn't vote, you subtract a vote from your party and add a

vote to the other party. frankly, i haven't been voting for people for a long time, i have been voting against people. i have been voting against pelosi. host: would you ever vote for a democrat? caller: yes. i voted for bill clinton. guest: she brings up a good point. why do people vote for who they vote for? wake uphis country will on election day and vote for the republican nominee. another 42% of this country will wake up in november, 2016, and vote for the democratic party. the fun part is about the 10% in the middle. if that last a percent gets you 251, that is the battle. philip and i would agree with that. she is absolutely right that there are people who go out and vote for republicans because they are against democrats and vice versa. that is how our system works.

winston churchill once said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all of the others. that is how it works. oft i would say is in terms trust issues, it is a problem for hillary clinton. nobody disagrees. the thing is it has been plagued for 25 years. we are so passed. it is not that we have decided we trust or don't trust her. we are sick of it. moving on. we have bigger things to worry about in this country than whether or not something happened in 1990 in arkansas. we are done. we are over it. host: who are the 10% everyone is fighting for? guest: they are in that critical key electoral college states of ohio, florida, virginia, north carolina, iowa, new mexico, new .ampshire, colorado a lot of states that, when i started out in politics were read and are now purple and a lot of states who were purple under no red. -- and are now ready. those are the voters in those

states -- obviously, there are two elections going on, the popular vote and the electoral college. start good in the electoral college. 243 votes they can bank right now. need to find these voters in these key critical electoral college states and to turn them out and try to sweep the other states that are in play. harry,incoln, alabama, democrat, good morning to you. caller: good morning. i would like to ask philip a question to see if the has an answer for me. host: we are listening. 61-year-old disabled american veterans getting ready to retire. i have been running into problems with the veterans administration about my health care.

yesterday, i went to the veteran outreach center and they wouldn't even see me or anything, even though i signed a contract with the department for active duty in the marine corps and i got injured and have been getting compensation. host: can i ask you to get to your question? caller: why does the republican party -- and trouble down on veterans? they had a congressional boost that says since i volunteered, i'm responsible for half my medical care instead of full as for the contract. getting sequestered. we don't get our pay raises or anything. i have to live with my family because i can't live on my own anymore. host: we heard your point. republicans, what they have done. guest: really quick, i'm from

alabama. i totally empathize with your point. i would say that from the last 10 years, the v.a. has had a big problem taking care of our veterans. the scandal has blown up under this president's administration. there hasn't been a time to fix it yet. to donald trump's credit, he has made this one of his bigger 2k --, to help veterans, take care of our veterans. i know a bunch of republicans have talked about it. awould tell you there will be better effort to take care of veterans within the v.a.. right now, the scandal lies on the doorstep of barack obama. host: pennsylvania, independents. caller: good morning. please let me explain something. as far as donald trump is [indiscernible]

the next thing, talking about hillary, listen. -- it costs us for trillion dollars. that is what we need to talk about. i am going to agree with the callers last point which is we just have bigger things to deal with in america. both in 2015, 2016, and moving forward then to worry about what may or may not have happened 25 years ago in arkansas. it is not the trust doesn't

matter, it is that on this particular human being, hillary clinton, the issue has been so played. let's talk about what we are going to do next. let's talk about how we are going to fix the veterans administration which i actually agree with philip has failed as much under the obama administration as it has under the bush of ministration. it is a disgrace that we don't do better for our veterans in this country. i want to hear hillary clinton talk about that. i want to hear any of the presidential candidates talk about that. when we rehash and rehash the past on hillary clinton, my have beenfine, i listening to it for 25 years, half my life. talk about what we will do next. host: a headline in the washington post, the past immigration stance is haunting marco rubio. his work in a gang of eight is something that ted cruz brings up repeatedly. he is jockeyed to become the replacement for donald trump. on? is going

that a good strategy for him? how does marco rubio response? changed his has position and he is allowed that opinion. crews, trunk, everybody is harping on that. rubio downbly drug and he pulls in iowa, new hampshire, and softer line of. every candidate has their own bag -- baggage that they have to deal with. this is rubio's. it is a big bag. there is no doubt. positive andt more i think they feel like if they can address it and move it to the next issue, he will be fine. the other thing i would say on this is obviously, there have been a lot of points done within -- polling done within a campaign and they know what will hurt another candidate. when you see these issues brought up with other candidates whether it is for trump -- i don't think travis bolling. if you see from other candidates, crews, christie, jeff. they know what punches will are

-- land hardest and they are going after that right now. susan, arizona, republican. caller: happy new year, y'all. my question is i don't understand about the caucus and new hampshire and the other states. if they don't win those states, the republicans don't win those states, can't they went with the other states? in arizona, if i had the money to open up a little building, do you know how many people want to vote for trump? they want change. they want jobs. arizona, i have two sons, they are so disrespectful. they wait for months to get in. my son waited for 31 days and i kept writing everything down. it is so hard on the family.

you know how harry reid and the other guy in the republicans talk first about what they're going to do? -- i am sout down tired of it all. we have to get someone in the white house -- host: we will take your point about why iowa and new hampshire -- guest: it is a momentum game. i will give you a great example. in 2008, rudy juliana -- rudy giuliani was leading all the national quarrels -- polls like trump was doing no he decided he could win iowa and new hampshire. he put all of his eggs into florida. toe florida came around vote, he was at zero. everything was in such a sweeping wave that that is why it is so critical. i would also say -- host: do you have to win one of the states? guest: you absolutely do. host: you have to win one of

those? guest: every nominee from the republican party has come to win south carolina. that is a fascinating statistic i didn't know about south carolina. this incredibly crowded field, 13 viable candidates, correct me if i'm wrong, 13 viable candidates, i think you can come in either number one, number two, or number three in any of those first estates get iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, and stay in it for a walk. i don't think you can come in eighth, 10th, but if you take one of those top three slots in one of those first three states, i think you will be in it for a while. there are just that many people running for president. also, if they make, i want to address the callers point about arizona. america will hold a presidential primary this year. whether or not it has been decided by the media, every single, all 50 states will hold a present shall primary.

any voter who, depending on the roles of that state, an open primary, there is no party registration, or you are a registered republican or democrat which you must be to participate in your primary, every voter in america has an opportunity to get up on their states primary day and walk into a voting booth and vote for the candidate of their choice. if they are on the ballot. if they feel strongly, they should do it. part of what is happening in america is fewer and fewer people are taking advantage of their rights as american citizens to cast their ballot. they have come in my opinion, no one to blame for that but themselves. host: that brings up the wall street journal. sees trump backers as his allies in these open primaries, as you are saying. guest: maybe. that is very interesting. i do want to get to, get it, but only half the states in this country require you to register by party. the other half, virginia is a perfect example. you don't have to register by

party when you register to vote. i am ain virginia, democrat, it doesn't say that my voter a decision. that means on primary day, i can go in and choose either ballot, republican or democrat. that is what vendors -- bernie sanders is saying. is march,end that it april, and insert name of state is having its primary. bernie is still in there with hillary and they are duking it out, but trump is out. could atrial flutter go in and vote for bernie sanders in a democratic president of primary -- could a donald trump voter go in and over bernie sanders? he could. host: it could work in the reverse. if john pistole in and going against hillary clinton and , supporters cross over and vote for trump. that could happen, but i'm not sure that would happen. i think there will be an independent before that scenario. guest: i agree with that. host: virginia, democrat,

terrance, you're up. first, let me say as a disclaimer, i am in democrat but i'm an african-american woman who could easily vote republican. i am a democrat because i will tell you, i have an extreme it is it -- disappointed with the republican party and its candidates. that is unfortunate. we have voters like me who believe in conservative values but the candidates that the republican party put up are absolutely dysfunctional, disruptive, and embarrassing. diehard -- i'm a hillary supporter. i think the trust issue was overplayed and it is horrible that there are people who do something so petty 25 years ago to hold it against her. what surprises me about trump supporters, what shocked me is that there are people who don't really understand how politics works. we all know just through the obama administration that i

don't care who the present your candidate is or who is in office, you can't get a darn thing done msu work it through -- unless you work it through congress. and less you want to change the face of america, you need to win the midterms. people are try to elect this man into office. he will have the same obstacles that obama had. the republican party in house can get itself together, what makes people think that donald trump is going to keep it together? it just amazes me and i'm really shocked at the mindset of american voters. i hate to say this, but the ignorance of the record voter. your point,l take midterm elections matter. guest: i don't think voters are ignorant at all. i think they are thoughtful. sometimes, they don't pay attention like people in washington, d.c. do to this 24 7, 365. i think they have families, i , kids thathave jobs

they take to soccer practice. they have a lot of things going on in their life. what donald trump does on a or whaty minute basis paul ryan or john boehner did on a minute by minute basis is not their main priority until election time and then they have a right to vote. i would also say this about the midterm election. not voting is eroding. -- is voting. if someone decides not to vote, they cast the right not to vote. i have to respect that process. she doesn't care what happens with hillary clinton 25 years ago, but what happened in benghazi, e-mails, that is not to be five years ago. that was during her tenure as secretary. guest: you are absolutely right. that is important one. i think that secretary quentin has, for the most part, been cleared in the issue of benghazi.

i don't think at this point of the american people believe she willingly let an ambassador die and an entire embassy under siege go, knowing that that was going to happen. i think, in retrospect, there are many things i could have been done. if she could go back in time as president obama and back to president bush, we would do things differently to prevent that tragedy. as per the e-mail scandal, hillary clinton, with all the respect to secretary clinton, is 6, 67 years old. i am 48. e-mail is something that i didn't even get until i was out of college. the idea that you are supposed to understand when you switch back and for the between your yahoo! server, gmail server, personal server, state department server, that you are supposed to use four different -- do i think she did this on purpose? i don't. i think she had one device and was a busy person and she made the mistake of using the same device and the same e-mail server to talk about her daughter's wedding as she did to talk about secretary duties and secretary of state. do i think there was a conspiracy?

no. do i think she did something illegal? unintentionally. like rolling a stop sign. do i think it is time to put that behind us and recognize we have bigger problems than whether or not hillary clinton used the wrong e-mail server? guest: i was in the bush of ministration on day one. bush was inaugurated and generate, two dozen one. i went into demonstration ministration on the day. we had very clear guidelines that if we were to e-mail personally or about political campaigns or anything else, we had to use personal e-mail and that our government e-mail us for government work on it. that was in 2001. i find it -- it is hard for me to believe. second, we have 8000 e-mails that are going to be released on december 31 from hillary's. that will be interesting to see what the media gets on that. romney in conroe, texas,

give money to you. caller: i was going to say something that i read a while back about donald trump and leona hensley. only little people pay taxes. what she said about donald trump, i wouldn't leave if his tongue was notarized. -- believe donald trump of his tongue was notarized good i don't understand -- i can understand why people are leaning toward donald trump. he is paying for his own campaign, he is in a two by politicians, but that being said, people -- they areo vote willing to vote for a people who has done the buying? that does make sense to me. host: i'm sorry. guest: i will give one quick example of the angst in american life, wally -- why donald trump's resume. i live in washington, d.c. for a long time. my wife and i became foster parents in the city.

we contributed to our local parks. we paid a town in taxes. when we go out into the neighborhood and tell people what i did, people would tell me i'm a horrible person. for me, it resonates with donald trump because, let's 80 south, i is the bullymp bullying the bullies. people in the south are raising their families, going to church, , butg to their communities are being told by washington, d.c. and new york any media how horrible they are, they are racist, they are these horrible people. trump is standing in front of them saying i have your back. i am went to bully them -- i am going to bully them. that is so powerful, the people who have been did -- being down for a long time. the problem is donald trump will turn his back on them, too. he has turned his back on everybody. what happens when those people who put so much faith behind him and he turns his back on them? what do they do then?

this is a chance to make good on a mistake. it is coming. i understand how they feel. caller: i am a registered democrat voting for trumped i love him. i don't know why media isn't backing him up with this virginia thing. i'm a democrat, i want to go in and vote. i shouldn't have to find something saying i'm a revote in -- a republican. c-span is fair with your representatives. you guys have a young lady on and she is all hillary. do you ever have a guy on who his all trump? it is always a representative from the republican party, but like you just said, trouble eventually turn his back on you. that is not balanced. one last thing, the benghazi the trust issue is

still there with hillary. how can she protect our country if she couldn't protect those for individuals that died and then told her daughter the real deal but told the families it was a video? anyway, i just wanted to voice that. host: let's take your point about what is happening in virginia. guest: they are requiring a loyalty pledge to get on the ballot in virginia. republicans do this all the time. donald trump just signed a loyalty pledge to get the data that the republican national committee has in all the states. he has assigned to these before. this is clearly something that would help prevent trump from turning into an independent candidate. that is why he is mad about it. as far as me being anti-trump, i give donald trump a lot of credit. i really respect that people are

supporting him. he has run a formidable campaign, i cannot deny that, and i was back to his opinion. host: massachusetts, independence. caller: happy new year's. studds, you said you are with the bush of ministration? -- administration? wasn't it bush who said that iraq had bombs of mass distraction and they didn't? wasn't that true? guest: that was. not me, personally. caller: he brought us into a war. was no good, but they kept that whole country in check. host: let's take up your point. people say this is a vulnerability for jeb bush would like to be economy -- nominee and president. what his brother did when it came to the iraq war?

we have admitted our mistakes on the iraq war. president bush after 2006 stabilized that country, barack obama has destabilized the country. we have chaos throughout the middle east. oft is a direct result barack obama. i don't see a lot of people coming out on that. i think i will one day. i think the republican party is standing on that we need a aronger military presence and stronger military stance in this campaign. you're seeing a from a lot of people. host: willie democrats run on the bush years? think it is possible. i think hillary clinton will try very hard to focus on the future for several reasons. the least of which is the 25 years going all the way from arkansas to benghazi, as we discussed today, i think she is interested in leaving behind, focusing on the future. bill clinton was famous for saying all campaign's are about the future.

scenario that was recently described to me by republican consultant under which jeb bush is the nominee. when that is fascinating? -- wouldn't that be fascinating? guest: i think you will hear a lot of commentary by the clinton campaign on the bush years, george w. bush years. absolutely. is not jeb bush, if it is marco rubio, ted cruz, john kasich, i don't think so. i think you will hear a lot more about the future and how we get past. bill is right, there is chaos in the middle east. whoever saw that is. we are going to need to deal with it anyway that makes americans more secure. i think they will see hillary focus on that. if jeb bush is the nominee, that could change things. host: douglasville, pennsylvania, republican during your are last in this conversation. caller: good morning. i think for the last 50 years, most of the time, all

republicans do is start wars and take as much a way the average worker as they can. there is no site inside of them doing any better. alwayse always -- they want credits for the rich people and take away from the poor. you want to take more from social security and everything else the average man works for and they are worried about every other country and they don't do anything to help this country. actually, when you think about it, we are still fighting the civil war down south. that is my comments. host: i want to ask both of you about the coming weeks and who might come out of this race on the republican side? guest: hopefully, we will clear a field for new hampshire. i think a larger field in iowa is fine.

i think in new hampshire, some of the candidates -- for the betterment of the party. would say the key thing to watch in january 1 to february 1 is how much money these super pac's go after donald trump. there is angst in our party right now over donald trump. they are nervous. trump is talking about spending money. i don't believe it. he may spend it week to week, but he won't spend $100 million. there are big donors and the republican party who are so anxious now that they are about to dump a lot, millions and millions of dollars on trump. not a national primary. we don't have national primaries. we have iowa, hampshire, south carolina. that is where you are going to see it. hampshire. new do you think a democrat gets out? guest: i think martin o'malley will likely get out, if not after iowa, then after new

hampshire. i like o'malley, but he is never been able to build any traction. i think it is monetarily going to get hard for him to stay in. however, i do want to say this about iowa and hampshire. keep in mind, does anyone remember who won iowa for the republicans in 2012? it was mike huckabee. one thing i want to caution everyone about, particularly ish the republican field, it so stronger 13 incredible, viable people whether you like them or not. i would tell everyone, don't worry about who wins. look at who comes in third. both in iowa and new hampshire and south carolina. deep in mind -- or 1992 who came in third in new hampshire? bill clinton. i think it is not about winning these early contests with this big of a field. it is about who comes in second, third, fourth, who can therefore stay in it longer as you begin to see people drop off. i don't know who it will be. i am surprised that some of the ones -- i am surprised walker

got out as early as he did. i am surprised christie is still in it, frankly. six months ago, i would have called a different. i have no idea who will make it through this. i will be more interested in the number three slot in all three of those states than the number one. thank you for the conversation. i appreciate it. we will take a short break. when we come back, we will return to the question we asked all of you earlier this morning. your experience serving on a jury and what happened in cleveland, ohio yesterday with the grand jury deciding not to press charges against the officer that shot tamir rice. we will be back with the question right after this break. >> friday had a lucky thing,

law enforcement officials examine the prison system and its impact on minorities. >> the first and primary reason we have prisons is to punish people for antisocial behavior and to remove that threat from society. it is to keep us safe, whether they rehabilitate the prisoner or deter future crimes. those are secondary concerns. the primary purpose of a prison system is for people who are not interest -- to keep society safe from the threats imposed by those folks. >> saturday night, little after 8:00, a relation -- a race relations to how meeting from areas expanding racial tension with police. >> they get their job saying i am protecting the public. their idea of the public is

those who give them their marching orders. that is us. ofwho need to look at all that. we talk about transparency, we need to look at those rules that they have started using to engage themselves with our community. host: sunday evening at 6:30, a discussion on media coverage of muslims and how american muslims can join the national conversations. at 9:00, young people from across the united kingdom and other the house of commons to discuss issues important to them here at this issue is so much more. young people feel disdain, surprise, and disillusioned. .s a child, i look forward we forget toup, notice the swishing and honking -- >> for our complete schedule, go to www.c-span.org.

>> c-span takes you on the road to the white house and into the classroom. cams year, our student documentary contest asks students what they want to hear from the candidates. follow c-span's road to the white house coverage and get the details about our student can contest at www.c-span.org. >> washington journal continues. host: we are back this morning. we will end today's program talking with all of you about your experience serving on a jury. prosecutor saw the timothy yesterday saying the grand jury has decided not to bring charges against the officer who killed the 12-year-old tamir rice. that has spread to debate in this country of whether or not the jury process works. whether the grand jury or trial jury. we turn on this morning to find

out what it is like for you who have served. even if you haven't served. butou are summoned, called, did not serve. we want to hear from you, as well. or, if you're asked to be excused. in the eastern and central parts of the country, dial-in at 202-748-8000, nonspecific, 202-748-8001. -- mountain pacific. janet from independence, missouri, good money. caller: my experience that i'm calling about is when i was not tipped but it was for a murder jury in kansas city. i'm a white woman and the defendant was black. one of the questions that they asked the room full of potential jurors was do you naturally give -- excuse me. do you give more credence to the police because they have made an accusation? i do not raise my hand. it didn't even occur to me. younext question was do

give more -- do you give no credence to the police? all of the blacks in the room raised their hand. i had never even thought about that. i eventually was not picked. i do give more credence to the police. i didn't even think about that. that is a more important question. if you are called for a jury, you need to think about the kind of stuff. a point that is made in the washington post this morning about why prosecutors may or may not pursue a case against a police officer. video is no guarantee of a conviction when it comes to police shooting. prosecutors are often reluctant to pursue these cases for many regions -- reasons. they have long term standing to belize and hesitate when officers are involved in shooting. they are also concerned they make police reluctance to put police and arms way out of your making an error. that is why it often takes an

extra ordinary circumstance such as a video recording of the incident or a confessional alleging a cover-up to persuade them to press charges. he goes on to say this. one rule of thumb among district attorneys. juries tend to find police eyewitnesses more credible than average citizens. they also are easily persuaded that excessive force, while distasteful, is often necessary. judges also tend to favor the police and shooting cases. we will go with neck next. they can michigan, good morning to you. caller: i just served on a jury. it was a civil case. it was an off-duty police officer. own personal his vehicle and beat up a citizen. which iury selection was selected, they asked us to believe more any police officers. everyone arrested. as were the people who got selected.

there were 12 of you? caller: there were just eight of us. it was in when county, michigan. occurred in dearborn which most of your viewers would know is heavily muslim. the two people involved were of the same race, same religion. it didn't involve muslims or blacks. it was to white catholic and visuals. they sided with the police officers. even though he was off duty and had no right to arrest or beat up a civilian and less he saw them commit a felony which she did not see him do. he just saw him driving erratically. host: why did the jury side with the police officer? caller: they felt that the plaintiff was not acting credible on the stand.

he was lucid and talking to his lawyer, but he thought he feigned that he had brain damage when he was talking to the other side's attorneys. host: ok. caller: we were asked to give 120 different counts of why he needed compensation for his injuries. one, hisnly finding emergency bill for the night of the in -- incident for $2000. maximumoted him on the 120 counts, it was twice of the million dollars. $2000 was less than they were hoping for. again, there were six minorities on the jury. two whites in a city that was predominantly muslim. we still sided with the police officers. host: it wasn't unanimous? caller: it had to be only seven out of eight.

i think all 120 counts it was unanimous except one, 7-1. magnolia, delaware, your experience serving on a jury. caller: i served what i wanted to speak about the grand jury in a case that happened in dover where a police officer kicked a black male,- breaking his jaw and it went to the grand jury. my problem with the grand jury is a district attorney, if he decides he doesn't want to prosecute, he can manipulate the evidence any way he can. there is no other black person in their with another lawyer to contradict him. this goes for innocent and guilty people. i have a real distaste for the grand jury. i think they are a farce.

host: that is a criticism many are making. the grand jury process is secretive. you are the from the family. they think the prosecutor went to convince the grand jury not to press charges against the officers. the difference between trial juries and grand jury's. sixrial jury consists of 12- people. they are generally public, jerry deliberations are private. they have a right to appear, testify, and it comes to a verdict, in favor of the plaintiff, guilty or not in a criminal case.

lloyd, magnolia, delaware, you're next. sorry about that, we are moving to arlene in cleveland, ohio. caller: back in the 1980's, i was working in a department store. every time i turned around, i was called to vote. a lot of people were saying why are you up -- why are they always calling you? i have been living in ohio for years and they never call me. the reason why you never got called is because a ticket from the voter registration and in bother to vote. i'm a black person. trial, it on a jury was all white, maybe two of us. to black people. they didn't bother to vote. black people today

calling, they don't want what people to vote. they are just turn to keep us from voting. you didn't bother to vote. the reason why their voting now is because obama is a black man. i don't feel that way. that has redk man blood in him. this man is a man who was raised as the white man. host: arlene, we won't go down that road. jim in pennsylvania, we are getting your experience serving on a jury. caller: i was on a jury to years ago. was a violent death by one person. neither one was minority. i was amazed that the prosecutor asked very little questions regarding our biases. -- in fact, that the prosecutor made points to ownthat we should use our judgment regarding whether or not the person was guilty or not. the police testified, when we get back into the jury room,

turner'she juries -- fairrors returned to be guarding situation could i was impressed by the low process. i'm amazed why some people don't trust the system. felt --ople in the jury and have been injuries before, though this was rather normal. it was a very fair process. i was really impressed when i walked out of the courthouse, to feel like the system works. host: how did you feel as a juror? caller: i don't think it was power. i think it was primarily thinking we have to do the right thing. maybe, that can be translated into power. i always felt like this is important for somebody's life. it has to be right. we have to do the right thing. we have to listen carefully.

i think that is probably what happens sometimes. jurors, after a long trial, don't really pay attention. we were instructed to pay attention to even the smallest detail that was given in evidence. issues back those in the jury room. listen to what this prosecutor had to say yesterday at a news conference he held when he said the grand jury had decided not to bring charges against the officer in the fatal shooting of tamir rice. >> today, we completed our fatal -- our investigation of the fatal shooting of tamir rice on this over 22nd, 2014 at the recreation center. based on the evidence they heard , as it applies to the police use of deadly force, the grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against cleveland police officers timothy lawman and frank.

that was my recommendation and that of our office. after reviewing the investigation and the law. a short time ago, we informed to mears mother of the grand jury decision. it was a tough conversation. we began to express condolences of our office, to share detectives, and everyone else who has worked so diligently on this case. in our sincere wish that these events find a dramatic day at the rec center, it unfolded a finley. it is very hard. we explained to her that this was a difficult decision. to charge police, even in a tragicon as undeniably as the death of her son, the state must be able to show that the officer acted outside the constitutional boundaries set forth by the supreme court of the united states. simply put, given this perfect storm of human error am a the states missed medications by all involved that day, the evidence

did not indicate criminal conduct by police. host: the washington post says this about police officer's. a first-degree murder charge poses the most difficult case for prosecutors because it requires proving intent. a 1985 supreme court decision established the police could not tot shoot felons, but needed demonstrate they pose a significant threat of harm to them or others. take a look at the statistic put together by the washington post back in 2014 after the grand jury did not decide to pursue charges against the officer in the death of michael brown. thatis the single chart shows that federal grand jury's indict 99.99% of the time. he goes on to say this.

grand jury's at the state level often do not indict police officers as ben castleman of 538 maybe observation about grantor is really indicting. he noted a future investigation showed police had been nearly immune from criminal charges in shootings in houston and other arch cities in recent years. separate research by bowling green state university found that officers are ready charged in on-duty killings. lawuse, the governing established by the supreme court in 1980 allows police officers to shoot to kill as long as they believe their life is an eminent danger. laurel, mississippi, your experience serving on a jury. --ler: host: alexis, wilmington, north carolina. are you ready to go? caller: good morning. happy new year.

speaking as a person who has been on the grand jury as well as an emt in boston in the trauma section. all too often, people are focused on the law. i satand jury experience .n on as you came in, you wanted to know how many cases there were. then you could set your appointment for getting your or making ited home to see some football game. this was openly discussed. farce.rience was a total i am so glad i didn't have any serious case that was on the edge of which way it should go.

whether it should be turned over for a jury trial or not. as an emt, 30 years ago in boston, we would be called to the jail. the prisoner would say the cops beat me up. all we could report was a three inch laceration over the left eye. we couldn't even say patient stated. there is a long history of manipulation. i know i might be jaded. i am glad that the first cop that i ever met walked me across milktreet with a bottle of with just the plastic holding and ensuring safety. he would help me across the street each day and remind me not to swing it.

i go back and remind myself that there are good cops out there. the ones that i worked with for a number of years, it shipped into that present memory. host: georgia, good morning. caller: good morning. merry christmas, happy new year. i have been chosen for three juries over the years. still a ago, i was working journalist. it was a murder one case. a local police officer had been shot in the back. we were sequestered. day, the man charged with that crime pleaded guilty

and got a life sentence rather than death. we were there only one day. casethere was one other that after one day, they reached a plea deal. there was one case about three case.ago that was a drug there were two charges. one was a felony. one was a misdemeanor. we had a home jury. i happens to be the foreman. i was sorry that i didn't ask the judge to have us come back the next morning. we were so close. there was one lady who was a holdout. there was one year and six or seven years ago that i was on i grand jury. in georgia, there are 23 jurors. week.t once a usually sometimes twice.

all of the cases that we got, there were a bunch, there was only one case in which we did need ofrn -- you only those 23, you only need 12 no votes. one case was so close i happened to be the vice chairman. i asked for a show of hands. we got 12 no votes. that is the only case that we did not have a true bill. host: explain that. caller: it means that that case goes on to trial. host: so, an indictment? caller: yes. tampa bay, florida. caller: i told her screener we had several experiences with jury summons is in our home and

community for 25 years. they would send the jury summons here even though all three of my children were in different colleges around our state. we would send them back because on the form, you are allowed to stay in college and 92 opt out for a little while. each year, they would get the same seven back. last year, i got chosen to go into the summons process. that was my first time and i thought it was really interesting because in our county which is pascal, they play you in a seat with over 200 forle and you watch a video three hours. then, you have numbers that are drawn and go in and whatever , we had a casey two 29here were 17 people who were asked different types of questions. the bottom line is that when

they sense the summonses and they sent them back, and the process we have in our county seemed very fair, very well thenized and it seemed like reason i was not chosen was because one of my sons graduated from college with a kid who is now a prosecutor. they asked me do you know anyone who works for the county who is a prosecutor? i said yes. i was eliminated because of that. it was very fair. i was not interrogated. it was a long day. it started at 8:00 in the morning and i do not get out of there until 5:00. also, in our county, they give money. if you don't want to decline payment for your jury duty, you can give that money to people in our county that are indigent or on a list any cell. many of you know that the

mayor and chicago cut his vacation short after another fatal shooting by police that killed two over the weekend. this is related to the death of laquan mcdonald. the white chicago police officer charged with the murder of the 2015 fatal shooting -- 2014 fatal shooting is excited to enter a plea on tuesday. jason van dyke needed to six counts of first-degree murder and one of the official miscounted -- misconduct in a 17-year-old stuff. is should video released last month showing he shot him 16 times. street demonstrations forced the resignation of these -- these rahm emanuel has been the target of heavy criticism since the video was least -- was released last month. today from areturn

family vacation in cuba. cleveland ohio, yesterday, the case of tamir rice, the justice department said they will continue to look into the death of tamir rice. we heard from the mayor yesterday saying that they would continue to be an administrative review of what happened on that day. john, north carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you?? host: good morning. caller: i have been on the jury seven times. usually as a foreman. they have all been very interesting experiences. host: why would you say that in the varmint -- foreman? do you asked for that? caller: it is usually because i've been on age or a trade before and most of the other people have it. they don't know what to do. -- i have been on a jury before.

they say, why do you be forming? it is usually the easiest thing. the truth is this is what i want to bring out. when you are on break or on lunch or whatever. experience, as soon as you go on break or something, people want to discuss it. it is human nature. even though you tell them you're not supposed to do this, they say, oh, yeah, but five minutes later they're discussing it again. the other thing is, a lot of times you ignore the law, you ignore testimony and you want to do what is right for whoever is on trial. the: we will leave conversation there. thank you for calling in and sharing or expense of serving on a jury. that does." it for today's "washington journal." ."